Finding Who We Are
by Tortugita
Summary: Captured and put through painful experiments, Mikey finds himself changing in ways out of his control. Can his brothers and their new ally save him before he completely loses himself? Mikey/OC
1. Chapter 1

Finding Who We Are

Chapter One:

Light, steady beeping filtered into Michelangelo's foggy mind, its even thrum pulling him from his lull. His consciousness tentatively felt around, taking in the sounds around him. As he shifted into alertness, he head gave a painful throb and he groaned, turning his neck as if to lean away from the affliction. A light tingling covered his body; his muscles felt numb and tired. A curious weight held his wrists and ankles in place and tinkled when he tried to move. A frown creased his lips and he pried his eyelids, which were crusted shut, open.

He was suddenly blinded by the brightness of the room he lay in. A white ceiling. White walls with no pictures. White cabinets on a far wall to his right. A sink below the cabinets surrounded by several jars that he could not see the contents of. A little silver vent in the far corner. The closest to him was a metal table with a small machine that blinked lights and beeped again. Beside it were several little sharp objects organized neatly in a row. If that wasn't disconcerting enough, he finally realized why he couldn't move his arms or legs... they were firmly strapped to the table he was on with thick metal cuffs.

Panic flooded into his heart and he started to gasp for air as he realized that his worst nightmare had become a reality. He had been captured.

Whimpering, he pulled as hard as he could at his restraints. Metal banging on metal filled the room in his violent struggle, but it didn't work. Feeling his throat thicken, Mikey tried to blink back tears when he saw the mirrored wall about a yard from his feet. _Are the watching me?_ He wondered, staring into the reflective surface. On his dirt covered feet and his own terrified face stared back. It was a staring contest he would not win.

Michelangelo let his head drop to the metal examination table with a _clang_ and tried to remember how he got there to begin with.

Leonardo had gotten pneumonia and secluded himself in his bedroom because he didn't want to infect their father, who was all ready unwell. Raphael was in trouble for sneaking out the night before when there had been an icy rain, which caused Leo to go after him and get sick to begin with. Donatello was trying to fix the microwave after Mikey learned that tin foil was _not _microwavable. And Michelangelo had been settling for a quiet night of video games.

Sometime during his struggle as Dante in 'Devil May Cry', the alarms that protected their lair from intruders began to scream. After that, his memory became fuzzy. He could recall Raphael cursing at the intruders and Donatello yelling something to him, but the words slurred and he couldn't piece together what was said.

'_Oh, God..._' he thought, hoping that they had somehow escaped whomever had captured him. He was gasping for breath and it hurt. His throat felt like he'd swallowed a cheese grater. As if he'd spent some time screaming. He felt weak, but he struggled to summon all the training Master Splinter had drilled into them since they were kids. Closing his eyes, he listened intently to his surroundings, trying to make out any movement. For several long minutes, he only heard his own labored breathing. It seemed to echo off of the walls and surround him. He'd never been claustrophobic, but he suddenly felt like the walls were closing in on him.

"Leo! Raph! Donny! _Anyone!_" He croaked, voice hoarse and sounding unlike his own. His heart went cold when he heard a cheerful humming and the light sound of shoes clicking on tile. His head swung towards the door and he gulped. The humming stopped and so did the soft footsteps. A shadow stood right outside the door. Muscles tensing, Mikey tried to suppress a terrified tremble as his capture stood only feet from him, separated by a thin door.

Slowly, the door swung open and a short, balding man walked in with a clip board in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, and a pencil balanced on his left ear. Mikey didn't move a muscle. The man resumed his humming, not looking up at him, but reading over the notes in his clip board. He shut the door and walked to the white cabinets, still not saying a word. Setting the clip board and coffee onto the counter top, he opened a few cabinets, rummaging around and pulling out several vials. He examined each and made little grunts before either pulling them out or returning them to their spot.

Mikey craned his neck, trying his best to keep an eye on him. The man seemed harmless, but if he truly was, Mikey wouldn't be strapped to a table wondering why every inch of his body was suddenly starting to tingle with dread. His neck was aching from the angle, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of the little man, who cheerfully took a sip of his coffee and pulled a pen from a front pocket on his long white coat. Mikey glanced back to the pencil on his ear, wondering what it's purpose was if he was only going to use a pen.

Once, when they were younger, Master Splinter sat his brothers and him down and explained the dangers of ever letting a human see them. He told them about crazy scientists who would love to get their hands on them and conduct experiments. Later Raph told horror stories about men who loved to cut open little turtles names Michelangelo. Mikey had had nightmares about scary men in white coats with sunken glowing red eyes, razor sharp teeth, and scissors for hands. Of course they'd only gotten scissors for hands after he watched Edward Scissor hands, but it didn't make them any less scary.

The man with his back to him, though, was nothing like the men in his dreams. He looked... normal. Couldn't have been more than 35 and didn't have a mean line on his face. Little wrinkles starting to form around his eyes seemed to imply that he laughed a lot. Of course... that could just mean he enjoyed torturing mutant turtles named Mikey… so, the terrapin stayed silent.

Finally, the man turned and looked at him. Their eyes met and both males froze. Michelangelo tried to ignore his panicked heart pattering frantically inside his plastron and after several painfully long minutes, the man seemed to finally realize what he was seeing and gasped, visibly jumping and spilling coffee all over his white coat. Quickly setting the mug down, he found paper towels and wiped it up, but his eyes didn't leave Mikey's.

"Oh drat! And I just got this thing cleaned, too," He huffed, but didn't spend too much time worrying about the stain as he continued to stare wide eyed back at Mikey, who gulped again, wishing he could pull back into his shell. Any jokes he would have had when not strapped to a table in an evil white room and under the gaze of a mad scientist melted on his tongue.

The scientist's eyes grew wide and a smile spread across his face. He was practically jumping up and down with excitement. Mikey didn't say anything. He didn't want to know what made mad scientists happy. He just wanted to go home. He tugged feebly on his chains, but they still held him down firmly. No escaping, then.

"You're awake!" The man in white, and now brown, too, exclaimed, rushing to grab his clip board and scribble wildly.

"Amazing," He muttered to himself, staring at Mikey with hungry eyes that were the size of saucers. Mikey shifted nervously and cleared his throat, much to the shock of the man, who stopped writing instantly to stare expectantly at him.

Mikey's eye ridges raised and he spoke uncertainly in that unfamiliar scratchy voice," Hey, Mr. Um… Docter-dude. Any chance you could, you know, unlock these?"

He jiggled his wrist restraints lightly, smiling hopefully at the man, though his heart sank to his stomach at the look he was given in response. A look of shock and greed. He could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes.

The clip board and pen clattered to the ground and Mikey wish he'd just kept his mouth shut because if he thought the scientist looked like a hungry wolf before, then he looked like a starved dragon who'd just set eyes on a fat goat now. The man licked his thin, chapped lips and rubbed his trembling hands together.

"My God!" He exclaimed, bushy brows rising high, wrinkling his forehead," You speak! I never expected such intelligence from a mutation! This is just incredible! I must get Dr. White right away!"

"No! Wait!" Mikey protested, but the man ignored his protests as if he hadn't said anything at all.

Gathering his clip board and pen, the little man scurried from the room, door slamming behind him. Silence again rang around Mikey as the man's hurried footsteps vanished. Why did he have to open his big mouth? Now the man was going to bring him more white... more white _couldn't_ be a good thing...

By the time he heard footsteps returning, Mikey had begun to feel drowsy. However, the sharper clicking of shoes on tile heading towards his door made a feeling of impending doom settle like a rock in his stomach and he was suddenly wide awake, waiting nervously for the door to open. The pace wasn't running, but it was rushed and purposeful. Like before, the steps paused at the door and Mikey held his breath as the door opened. He suddenly wished the smaller, balding man had returned instead.

Dr. White was in his mid-fifties, though, aside from his thick head of gray hair, it didn't show. His face was youthful and arrogant. He had a straight nose and a square jaw. His full lips sat in a permanent frown and heavy eyebrows hung low over his eyes. His eyes were so dark and cold that as they passed over him, he quaked. He wished his brothers would appear form no where like they had in the past to save him at the last second, but as the tall man neared him, his hopes sank.

Danger hung around this man's broad shoulders like a snake poised to strike, even as he smiled in a way that Mikey supposed was meant to be warm, but it chilled him through his shell. The man did not speak to him right away, but opened a drawer to pull out a pair of powdered gloves. He snapped them on, then turned to face Mikey, still smiling that cold smile.

"Er... hey?" Mikey tried, laughing nervously. Dr. White's smile widened, reminding the frightened turtle of the wicked Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. He almost expected the smile to keep curving right up to the man's ears. This man was more like the scissor-handed men from his nightmares...

"You're finally ready," He said, waving a white, gloved finger at the mirror on the wall. Two people dressed in green with masks over their faces entered the room moments later. They stood beside each other, their eyes emotionless and blank, waiting for the doctor's orders.

"Wheel the turtle into the new lab," He ordered. The people in green separated, each taking a side of Mikey's table and wheeling him out the door. Maybe the white room wasn't so bad. He had a feeling that wherever they were taking him was far worse.

"H-hey, look dude," Mikey attempted to twist his head around to see Dr. White, but only caught glimpses of his elbow around the person pushing by his head," I don't know what's going on, but we could uh... work something out. We're both men, right? L-let's t-talk..."

His voice wavered and squeaked as he was pushed into a dim room that was full of large, unrecognizable equipment. If he survived this, he knew he'd never be able to look at Donny's room the same again. The little bit of light gave an eery blue-ish glow to the room. There were machines in every corner, shining ominously, but the most frightening was directly above where Mikey was left. As Dr. White waved the people in green out, he observed the large bulb positioned over him. Three metal prongs protruded from beneath and curved to the front like fangs. And a metal shell housed it all.

He was so absorbed in trying to figure out what horrible thing this bulb machine did, that he didn't notice the needle in Dr. White's hands until he was tapping the glass tube and pushing the air bubbles out. He produced a disinfecting cloth and cleaned a spot on Mikey's arm. Mikey figured he was hoping for too much when he tried to tell himself that maybe the doctor was going to inject himself with the strange swirling yellow liquid.

Mikey's eyes trained on the needle glinting in the light and he started to pull at his restraints again in a panic. He hated needles! Especially the kind mystery yellow swirley stuff in it!

He winced when the needle was unceremoniously jabbed into his arm without so much as a warning.

Dr. White smiled as he pulled the needle away and set it on a nearby metal work table. He rolled it closer and ignored the turtle, who tensed up and fought the restraints once again. It was useless. He would never break free. The metal links holding the turtle down were ones he had specially made just for this turtle. He knew once it woke up, it would try to escape. And it's arms were thick masses of muscle. Regular restraints would have never held it down.

He chuckled as the turtle cursed at him. He ignored the angry animal and continued to fiddle with tiny white, harmless looking paper circles. They had tiny computers in them that would attach to the turtle when the adhesive was pulled and placed on the green skin. He hummed a cheerful tune as he prepped them for application.

The turtle had slept for several days, never even moving a muscle. He had been starting to wonder if it was having an allergic reaction to the tranquilizer they'd shot him with and was falling into a coma. He was about to give up and have it euthanized. Lucky for him, the turtle finally awoke. He'd been itching to try out his new invention. It had strange effects on regular animals, but he was convinced that it would work on humans. Unfortunately, he was not allowed to test on a human. So what better than a human-like animal? It had some of the desired effects on Chimpanzees, but he wanted something even more human.

Michelangelo glared at the man who was off in his own world. He wanted to know what the hell the man had just put into him, because the second the needle entered his skin, a strange tingling erupted into his arm and had quickly spread through the rest of his body. He felt like thousands of tiny bugs were crawling around under his skin. He didn't find it nearly as cool as he'd found the scarabs in The Mummy. His stomach twisted and bile rose in his throat at the thought of microscopic scarabs eating his flesh from the inside out.

He shook violently, vibrating the table. This was how he was going to die? Microscopic scarabs? Alone in a science lab surrounded by white? Somehow, he'd always pictured something more heroic. Like throwing himself in front of a bullet for a beautiful woman. Like in the movies. White gloved hands moved towards his face and he used the only defense he could think of. He tried to bite the man.

Dr. White's eyes narrowed and he pulled back, then barked to the shadows where the balding man from before emerged, eyes wide.

"Restrain him!" Dr. White demanded.

Mikey looked pleadingly to the balding man, but he kept his head low as he pulled a leather belt from underneath the table and strapped it around Mikey's throat. Mikey twisted his head back and forth, tears stinging his eyes. He felt cold fingers press against each side of his forehead, followed by his neck, several spots on his arms and legs, and his plastron.

"Flip the switch," He heard the icy voice of Dr. White say and it was the last thing he registered before the world swirled around him and an excruciating pain burned through his entire body. He tried to scream, but he couldn't hear anything except a loud ringing in his ears. He wasn't sure how long this continued before he blacked out entirely.

* * *

"What do you mean you lost Mikey?" Leonardo couldn't believe what his brothers were telling him. He stared from Raphael, who stared in shame at the ground, to Donatello, who at least met his older brother's eyes, but looked a little worse for wear. Both turtles felt horrible for letting their baby brother slip away during the mysterious attack. Leo had been unconscious for the last couple days, almost losing his battle against Pneumonia with Donny's lab in ruins. He'd finally woken, but they wished he hadn't. Better for him to have remained blissfully unaware.

"Do you know where they took him?" Leo asked, his eyes still shifting from one brother to they next. They both shook their heads. Raph looked as though he barely had control of himself. His hands were clenched into fists, face twisted with worry, and his entire body tense. Leo had never seen him so upset. He turned to Donny expectantly, figuring he wasn't getting much from Raph.

The blue banded turtle sighed and shook his head again," I'm sorry Leo. We don't know anything about the people who took him and until I get my computers up and running again, which could take some time, I won't have any way to attempt to track him. Even when I do get them up, our only hope, unless we stumble upon some miracle, will be that his shell cell is still in working order. It's a long shot, but if it hasn't been damaged, I'll be able to track him that way."

Leonardo clenched his teeth, but then nodded. There truly was nothing more they could do.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for not doing this in the first chapter. I know it's obvious that I don't own the Ninja Turtles, but I should say so anyway. **I don't own the Ninja Turtles!** Vanessa is mine, however the last name is borrowed from one of my request grooming customers. XD I'm not very creative. I couldn't think of a last name, and Lehman came to mind because I groom her Cocker Spaniel every couple weeks. HueCorp is mine, of course, and so is Mr. White. Oh, and I have no idea if Lupher is an actual university in NY or not. It's my beloved grandmother's maiden name.

* * *

Finding Who We Are

Chapter Two:

Vanessa Lehman did not consider herself to be a particularly charming or attractive woman. Her pointed face, small round nose, and thin lips gave her features a mouse like appearance. It had become habit to wear her light brown hair in her face. She had no problem disappearing beneath the thick, frizzy mop that seemed to hang haphazardly. Despite several attempts to tame it, the wavy locks, curled and stuck out anywhere they pleased, refusing to appear anything but a rat's nest. If that wasn't enough, she'd all but given up hope on her lack of style. Somehow, no matter how hard she tried to coordinate her outfits, they ended up horridly mismatched.

It was all these reasons that Vanessa was surprised to have landed an interview at HueCorp laboratories. She graduated Lupher University with a degree in Chemistry, though she had to admit that she didn't particularly enjoy the subject, she had a knack for it. Perhaps her good grades or strong recommendations from her Professors had gotten her the job, because it definitely wasn't her personable personality or good looks that had gotten it. No, Vanessa was painfully shy and during her interview with a scientist there, so much blood rushed to her face that she was in danger of passing out. Thankfully, he did not comment, though she knew her face had to have been as red as a tomato.

Vanessa blushed as she remembered her embarrassing behavior during the interview, but it couldn't be helped, now. And really, it didn't matter, anymore because she got job, didn't she? She didn't expect to do anything terribly amazing or exciting yet. She was going to be at the low end of the totem pole, so she had a feeling that her hours were not going to be very good and she wasn't going to get any important tasks until she proved her worth.

Today was going to be her first day. Her nerves were in such a jumble, she couldn't bring herself to eat. She sat in a small cafe, cradling a cup of coffee and swirled the liquid in thought. She really hoped that her lack of people skills didn't lose this job for her. One of the reasons she ended up deciding to study chemistry was the hopes that she would not have to deal with too many people. Her anti-social personality sometimes rubbed off on people the wrong way and gave them the impression that she was arrogant and snobbish.

She frowned. Hopefully her new employers wouldn't get that impression. She couldn't help her lack of social skills... She did _try_ to be social, but it seemed that whenever she tried to fit in and talk with anyone, she ended up blurting out random, stupid things and made a complete fool of herself.

Bringing the Styrofoam cup of sweet coffee to her lips, she tried to duck her head behind her mass of hair to hide her blush. Not that anyone there paid any mind to her anyway. She'd always been a wall flower and had nearly perfected the ability to disappear in a crowd. There weren't many people awake yet, anyway. Two other people enjoyed a cup of coffee in the tiny shop. An older man who's eye brows furrowed and raised regularly as he read a newspaper spread across an entire table. She'd seen this man before and knew that this was regular for him. His expressions in response to the articles he read amused Vanessa. Her hazel eyes roamed to the other customer. An important looking woman in a business suit and smart, snappy heels that said she definitely was not all business. Her manicured nails tapped gently on the keys of her laptop and she was oblivious to her observer.

The owner to the shop sat behind the counter, quite obviously bored out of her mind. She was a plump, cheerful woman who always made Vanessa feel welcome with a cute little joke every morning. She looked forward to seeing the blond woman every morning. The joke was usually childish, but served it's purpose to make her day. The woman behind the counter sat on a stool, her shoulders slumping forward, legs crossed, and an elbow resting on her raised knee as her hand cupped her face. Her other hand held a paper back romance and her face held a soft smile and gentle flush as she imagined the story that Vanessa knew would only happen in a fairy tale. This was a main reason Romance did not appeal to her. It was like dangling candy in front of a child and describing the sweet, milky taste of the chocolate, only to put it away and tell them they could never have it. As it was, she knew she'd be lucky to land a man, let alone a romantic one. She did not have high hopes for romance.

Biting her lip, Vanessa glanced at the delicate, linked watch on her wrist. The hands told her that she only had a few more minutes to enjoy her caramel latte before she had to head towards the lab for her first day. Pouring the rest of the sweet drink into her mouth, she swallowed thickly and stood to grab her bag and toss the cup. She hadn't bothered dressing up, since she figured her clothes would be hidden by a white lab coat, anyway. She wore jeans and a large Lupher University t-shirt.

However, when she reached the lab, she silently wished she had taken the time to pick out a better outfit. Heat rose to her cheeks as her employer looked her over. He was an important looking, middle aged man. His handsome features made her self conscious. He didn't comment on her attire, just raised his eye brows and held a coat to her. Still blushing in embarrassment, she slipped it on. She could tell that it had been made for a man in the way it drowned her petite form. Even so, she was happy to disappear into it. She'd always despised any attention from men to her body.

"You must be Ms. Lehman," The man finally commented, shifting a few clip boards into his left arm to offer his right hand," I am Dr. White."

He smiled, but Vanessa shuddered. Though the smile was meant to welcome her, it held no warmth and his icy eyes regarded her coldly. She squirmed and struggled for some sort of response because he held her hand in his and seemed to be waiting for her to say something.

"I-It's a pleasure," She stammered, returning his hand shake with a small squeeze. She was appalled by her stutter, but he seemed to accept it as he turned to look over his forms again. He took a deep breath and sighed heavily at what was apparently a full work load. She doubted that a scientist of his caliber had the time to train her.

"You said in your interview that you volunteered at Beckhams Labs. What is it they had you do?" He asked, not looking up at her as he shuffled through a few papers.

"Um..." She reveled in her own apparent brilliance," Well, I mostly cared for lab animals. Fed them, cleaned their cages, and I was able to help conduct smaller experiments. Mostly animal medicines and other care products."

Dr. White nodded and gestured for her to follow him.

No words passed between them as he led her through twisting halls. She was relieved that he didn't care for conversation because she wouldn't be able to keep up. The halls were chilly and Vanessa had to repress a shiver as goose flesh prickled up her arms. She followed beside and one step behind Dr. White, wondering how she was ever going to learn these winding halls. The building certainly didn't look this big from the outside. Who knew there would be a sort of labyrinth within. They passed several doors, all of which were closed. Many had small windows, but a few were windowless and she had to wonder what was within that Dr. White obviously didn't want to be seen. They'd been walking a such a brisk pace, that she almost stumbled when they came to an abrupt stop.

Vanessa looked around and observed the large, metal door they'd come to. It's gray color looked very out of place in the otherwise stark white halls. Dr. White pulled a plastic card from around his neck and slid it through a little box that was about chest height just to the right of the door. A series of clicks signaled the unlocking of the cell. As he pulled the door open, Vanessa was a little more than shocked to see that it was six inches thick. What on earth were they trying to keep in? She wondered, brows furrowing.

She'd heard of laboratories using larger creatures, such as chimpanzees for experimentation, but the door seemed to imply that there was something much larger than a chimp inside. A gorilla, perhaps? She was pretty sure that was more than a little illegal... But, she kept her mouth shut. This job was important. It was hard enough getting a job to begin with. She had bills to pay. Who was she to point out right and wrong.

The smell that wafted from inside was strong and unpleasant. It reeked of urine and waste. If she hadn't had experience with this type of smell before, then she would have vomited. Even being prepared, though, her stomach churned a little. Dr, White, however, seemed unaffected. He strode in and she followed. The door slammed shut and he led her to a small office that held a small desk.

"For now," Dr. White finally spoke," I'm only going to have you maintain the animals contained here. You will be responsible for their feeding, cleaning, and overall health. If they are injured or injure themselves, it's your responsibility to bandage them."

She listened and nodded, looking around the small room. An old computer sat on the desk, it's screen boxy and large. She'd almost forgotten such screens existed. The flat screens seemed to dominate every where else. A file cabinet was placed near the desk and a well worn wheeled chair was slid under the table top.

"You'll need to document anything that changes. Whether it be as trivial as the the food they eat to any changes they go through. Your observation is vital to all research that takes place in this lab," He continued, ignoring her silence. From his clip boards, he pulled out a few sheets and laid them on the desk," I have a few release forms I need you to sign. Please read them carefully before you sign them."

Vanessa's eyes fell to them. They were no surprise to her. The other lab had forms she had to sign, too. Dr. White waited patiently, hands clasped behind his back as she looked over them. One was an agreement that since she was to work with animals, she had to acknowledge that she understood the dangers of injury when handling a possibly frightened animal. Another was for her understanding of anesthetics, medicines, and sedation. In signing that, she verified that she understood the uses and knew how to apply them. The final form, she paused at. It suggested that she may or may not see animals with mutations or other abnormalities and in signing, she would swear secrecy. Anything that she saw within HueCorp labs was not to go past the door. She considered this and wondered what on earth was so worth hiding. Was HueCorp doing something illegal?

Maybe they did, in fact, have a gorilla in the back. She bit her lip in hesitation, but reasoned that she needed this job. Before she could change her mind, she scribbled her messy signature on the dotted line. No sooner had the pen left the paper that Dr. White scooped up the sheets and fixed her with a smile that chilled her to the bone. She offered a shaky smile in return.

* * *

After signing the release forms, Dr. White left her on her own after the briefest of explanations about how to use the programs on the computer and the location of the supplies she would need. She explored the walk in closet that held wall to wall shelves full of animal food, bedding, and medical supplies. It was a disaster and she knew that she would be spending the next day organizing everything to better suit her needs.

The rest of the room held upwards of a hundred or so cells. Her work was certainly cut out for her. Dr. White made it seem like she alone would be handling the animals. Sighing, she walked through, peering into the cages. The closest to her office were small animals. Rats, rabbits, ferrets, some reptiles and amphibians, tons of white mice. And she continued down the isle, the cages got bigger and held dogs and cats, none of which looked up as she passed. A depression hung in the air that implied that the animals had given up on any prospect of life outside of the cages they lived in.

A few primates sat forlornly in corners, staring at nothing. Some had bandages in various locations. Then, she came to the mutations the sheet promised. She paused at a cage that seemed to hold a reptilian feline. It had large fangs that hung out of it's mouth and well past it's chin. She gulped, glad that it had a metal collar around its neck and links that chained it to a wall. She hated to think what it could do to her. It slept fitfully, it's legs and feet twitching as it chased... whatever prey it was dreaming about. Similar mutations stalked and laid about in other cages.

Finally, she came to the last one, which was perhaps the largest. This one caught her attention and made her gasp because within it was a... turtle. Of sorts. It looked almost human! It was lying on it's stomach, it's face, which seemed to hold a certain amount of intelligence, towards her. It had two muscled arms and legs and three fingered hands! It's shell curved slightly and had scars all over it. This animal seemed particularly dangerous... not only did it have a collar similar to the lizard cat, but it also had shackles on each limb. As she watched it, she noticed that it appeared to be sleeping. It took deep, slow breaths, though they were ragged.

Bandages wrapped around it's plastron and carapace. And more were around it's wrists and ankles. Blood was leaking through the ones on it's forearms. Biting her, lip, Vanessa hesitated a little. It was her job to take care of these animals. Even the frightening, mutated ones. Though, she wondered about how legal this particular mutation was, she hurried to gather bandages. When she returned, the turtle had not moved.

Unhooking the keys Dr. White had given her from her belt, she unlocked the cell and tentatively stepped in. When the turtle still didn't move, she moved the rest of the way in and sank beside it. She set the bandages and alcohol pads beside her hip as she observed him more. He looked so... human like... This poor victim of science tugged a little at her heart. She tentatively touched the green skin. It was surprisingly smooth and warm under her fingers. It was hard to say if it was supposed to emit heat. Humans did, but turtles did not. She made a note to pull up charts on this particular animal to see what was normal.

Vanessa traced her fingers over the bulky curves of muscle. They twitched under her and she jerked a little. Clearing her throat, she waited to see if it woke. It didn't. Breathing a sigh of relief, she decided to hurry and change the bandages before it did. She was close enough that it could hurt her if it wanted to. She'd managed to grab a sedative, just in case.

The shackles around the turtle man's wrist had to be removed to tend the bandages, but she only took one off at a time, sure to replace the first before moving to the second. Underneath the red stained gauze, deep gashes that could have been obtained through a violent struggle with the cuffs circled it's wrists. The cuts were deep enough that they were still bleeding quite a bit and a bit of yellow oozed around the wounds, suggesting infection. Carefully, trying her best not to cause the animal any more pain, Vanessa cleaned the wounds. She took care to move quickly, though. She relaxed a little when the shackles were back in place. Before she moved to check the ankles, she looked back at the creature's face.

It's eye ridges were furrowed and a grimace spread across it's lips. It was obviously in pain. The poor thing. Vanessa didn't know how she was going to get through this job. She had seen animals in pain, but this one was human enough to make her feel very sorry for it. That wasn't to say that she didn't like animals, but during her last job caring for animals, she'd learned to not become attached to the ones at work. There was no guarantee that it would still be there the next day.

"I'm really sorry, big guy..." She whispered, running her knuckles over it's cheek. At least, she assumed it was male. It had nothing to imply it was female, but the muscles made it seem masculine. Her hand paused on it's cheek. This poor animal... she'd seen many animals have experiments performed on them, but this one really settled a sad feeling into her heart. She sighed, frowning. Just as she was about to pull away, the turtle man groaned. Before she could retrieve her hand, his shot up and he grasped her wrist.

The startling blue eyes that stared distrustfully at her, blinked and narrowed with hate. Sudden fear wriggled into her heart and it began to beat faster as she tried to think of a means of escape.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" She exclaimed, trying to tug her hand away. She looked around for the syringe of sedation, but found she had accidentally kicked it just out of her reach. The turtle's eyes continued to stare at her. She met his gaze and gulped, her own hazel eyes wide in fear. He seemed to be unsure of whether or not he was going to let her go, but she knew if he wanted to hurt her, he'd definitely be able to. No one would be there to stop him.

"I'm sorry," She apologized again," I w-was just t-trying to change y-your bandages. Your b-bleeding! And your c-cut was getting infected..."

* * *

Mikey glowered at the woman who'd been touching his face so gently. In the few weeks he'd been kept there having electrical currents pumped into him, he'd never seen her before and had to assume that she was relatively new to the lab. He'd woken at the whisper of a touch on his cheek. It was gentle, but for whatever reason, stirred him from his fitful sleep. She looked frightened of him, but he knew that none of these scientists could be trusted. Even the man who seemed normal and kind that he'd met when he first woke in this hell had no problem with poking and prodding him. He knew this woman would soon be participating in the experiments.

The experiments had never been explained to him. He was just a dumb animal after all. At first, he tried to ask the doctors what they were trying to accomplish, but they all ignored him. No one ever said anything to him. He missed conversation and jokes, but his desire to engage with the people who kept strapping him to tables and sticking needles into his skin quickly vanished.

Since the first day, he could still feel what felt like tiny bug crawling under his skin. Some times, they seemed dormant, but it never lasted long. The drove him crazy. Made him want to claw at his skin. Whatever the scientists were trying to do, Mikey had figured enough out to know that it wasn't working. The things they kept injecting into him, kept... dying... was that the word for it? Well, in any case, he'd had several injections of the swirly yellow liquid to replenish the supply.

That wasn't the worst part. What he dreaded the most was the room with the clawed globe on the ceiling. It was there that electrical currents were forced into him. It triggered the bug things to speed their movements so that they were darting all over his body. Their flurry of movements coupled with the sparks dancing over his skin was extremely painful. Though he'd noticed that his skin was mostly unmarred, with the exception of his wrists and ankles, which bled regularly due to his struggle, it felt like the bug things were scraping his skin from the inside, while the electricity felt like it was burning his skin right off.

According to the minimal conversation between Dr. White and the assistant that spilled coffee on his lab coat before, who's name, Mikey learned, was Richard, it was a miracle he was still alive. Apparently, other test subjects had died during the tests. It wasn't surprising. Mikey certainly felt like he was going to die every time he was wheeled into that room. He ripped his attention from his thoughts and back to the girl whose wrists he was holding captive.

As the brunette apologize profusely, Mikey felt his anger dissipate and he sighed heavily. The woman's face was flushed and very frightened. She wanted nothing more than to get away from him. She may participate in his painful experiments later, but as of yet, she was innocent. He released her wrist and rolled away from her.

"I'm sorry," He muttered, his voice very hoarse. It was so painful just to speak those two words, that he said nothing more. He heard her hurriedly gather the gauze and other medical supplies. In a few moments, the cage door shut and locked. He closed his eyes. Somehow, he knew he was going to die here. His brothers would never find him...

* * *

Vanessa was shocked when he simply let her go and even more shocked when he apologized. This animal was educated. At least enough to have manners. Too taken aback by his ability to speak, she could only grab her things and back away, relieved to have bars between them again. She stood there for a moment and watched him curl into a fetal position.

Her heart skipped a beat and once again she found herself feeling very sorry for this creature. His whole life was to be spent in this cell. Even if he ever did manage to escape, he had no place in the outside world and would probably only end up in a zoo, where he would be treated little better than he was now. Those blue eyes were dark, but Vanessa could almost see traces of what once may have been a light spirit. He'd been obviously been tortured into submission and the dejected orbs had lost all hope.

She couldn't continue to look at him. Ducking her head, she turned away. As she retreated, she heard him sniffle and let out an almost inaudible whimper that sounded suspiciously like _'brother...'_

Swallowing a knot in her throat, she forced herself to walk away and tend to the other animal's injuries.

* * *

A/N: So, this wasn't a terribly exciting chapter. I meant to involve Raph, Donny, and Leo, but the chapter just got too long. I hope my OC didn't chase anyone away! *Sweatdrops at the lack of audience* Oh well, if anyone is still there, review and let me know what you think. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Finding Who We Are

Chapter Three:

"Raph! Did you find anything?"

Raphael glared furiously at the object in his hand as Donatello's voice floated down to him. He stood in the middle of a dump on the side of New York furthest from their destroyed lair. He and his brothers had been picking through trash all night. For hours they'd been digging around fruitlessly and now he held their answer. His throat thickened as he stared at Michelangelo's dying shell cell. It was pretty busted up and the battery life was very weak. It had been their only hope of finding their little brother. A can tinkered from the top of a mound beside him and he didn't have to look up to know that his other two brothers were there, making their way towards him.

"Raphael? This isn't the time to mess around. When we call for you, you need to check in!" Leo frowned at him, folding his arms over his plastron as he came to a stop several feet away from the red banded turtle.

Growling, Raphael threw the cell at Leo. It hit the ground at the oldest turtle's feet, smashing into tiny bits and scattering about. Leonardo's and Donatello's eyes widened as they looked at the broken device. Their hearts suddenly felt heavy as realization struck them. They were not going to find Michelangelo...

"Damn it!" Raphael yelled into the night, dropping to his knees and slamming his fists against the ground as hard as he could. Pain erupted in them and wound up his arms. He was visibly trembling and shaking his head back and forth in denial.

The only thing that had kept the brother's hopes up was the thought that somehow their baby brother had managed to hold onto his shell cell. They'd spent weeks working together to fix Donny's computer and tracking equipment. It had not been easy finding the parts they needed. The thought lingering on each turtle's mind was whether it would have made a difference if they had been able to fix everything faster. Wherever Mikey was now, the chances of finding him were very thin.

Leo sighed and shook his head as he stared at the cell at his feet, scooping to pick up the pieces. Mikey would not have been careless enough to drop the phone somewhere. Someone had taken it from him. Leo closed his eyes, bowing his head and clenching his fist around the broken phone.

Donatello looked between his older brothers uncertainly before sliding to Raphael's side and putting an arm around his shoulder. Raph trembled slightly, but didn't pull away.

"Come on," Donny whispered," let's just go home…"

The old rat had not expected his sons to find their brother so easily. He'd spent the time they were gone trying to project himself into the missing turtle's mind, but had not been able to make a strong enough of a connection with Mikey to discern anything beyond the fact that he was in pain. His contact was brief and fleeting as if the youngest turtle was fighting to keep conscious and was losing more often than not. He sensed a few other raw feelings such as fear, hunger, and anger. While the last was an uncommon emotion in Michelangelo, it sudden strength of it was disconcerting to his father.

When the door to the lair opened and shut, Splinter slipped out of his light meditation and waited in the freshly cleaned dojo as the three turtles filed in looking like their world was simply crumbling around them despite their efforts to meagerly hold up the pieces. Their strength was dwindling and he knew it would only get weaker the longer Michelangelo was missing. He said nothing as Leonardo sank to his knees in front of him, Donatello and Raphael kneeling behind him. All three bowed their heads, the air of despair thick around them.

Leonardo placed the pieces of the broken shell cell in front of Splinter. The old rat gently pushed them aside without looking at them. He knew they would not find their brother, but had not tried to tell them. He knew they would never have listened. All three were so consumed with fear for their little brother that they would have wanted to at least try to see if they could find him through the cell. Now, Splinter folded his hands in his lap and stared at the three turtles.

"My sons, Michelangelo was not found," He said matter-of-factly, eyes flitting for a second to Raphael, who jerked violently, but did not otherwise move," however, you must have faith. He is cradled in the hands of an unknown enemy, but he is alive, I assure you."

Raphael looked doubtful, but Donny and Leo looked up with eyes wide and filled with hope. Before any of them could say anything, Splinter continued," I have made very brief contact with him. He is not comfortable, but he is... surviving."

Leo leaned forward, rising slightly off his knees," Did he say anything? Does he know where he is?"

"Or who took him? Have you been able to see any of his surroundings? A cup, a window, a logo, anything?" Donatello continued.

Raphael clenched his teeth and swallowed thickly as Splinter only shook his head sadly.

"No, I am afraid not, my sons," He said softly, a sigh seeming to deflate the old rat, who hunched and lifted a bony hand to rub his head, which throbbed slightly from the fervor of his mediation. He had been trying with little breaks to revive a connection with his youngest son and it was wearing on him. He added after he composed himself," No, his consciousness wavers and his defenses are up. Many times, he has pushed me from his mind. I do not think he recognized my probing as my own."

"Like he is worried that someone else might intrude..." Donny thought out loud, earning an angry growl from Raph, who stood abruptly and hooked a hand behind a stand that held several practice swords. In one swipe, he flung it across the room, scattering weapons all over the floor.

"Raphael..." Splinter said gently, saddened by his tempered son's distress.

"No! They're hurtin' him! Those… those _people_! They're hurtin' Mikey, who would nevah hurt a fly! Damn it!" He cursed, lifting a weight and hurling it at the brick wall, where it smacked loudly, cracking the surface before clanging on the ground and rolling away.

"Raphael!" Splinter admonished, his voice rising as he stood and clacked his staff on the ground. The sharp sound seemed to reverberate off of the walls and silence fell with the exception of Raphael's labored breathing. The angry turtle didn't say anything, nor did he make any attempt to rejoin his family. Leo and Donny stared sadly at the red banded turtle, who clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Raphael," The rat repeated, walking slowly over to him to place a hand on his arm," You must calm down. For Michelangelo's sake, you must remain level headed so we can focus on finding him. Do you think you can do that?"

Raph nodded, but turned to glare at his sensei,"Yeah, but when I get my hands on da ones who took my brothah, I'm gonna make 'em pay for ev'ry scratch on Mikey's skin."

Though they said nothing, Leo and Donny exchanged looks, making a silent agreement that they, too, would punish the turtle-nappers.

Unperturbed by his son's violent promise, Splinter nodded," Wonderful. I am glad we have reached an agreement. Let us meditate, my sons. Keep your thoughts on your brother's consciousness, not on his situation."

As the rat moved back to his pillow in front of the other two turtles, Raphael walked stiffly back to his spot and dropped heavily beside Leo. The blue masked turtle sent him a discreet look, letting him know he had his back. Raph nodded and closed his eyes. Anger still boiled in his gut, twisting and flipping. The thought of Mikey being so frightened that he put up mental walls to protect himself, really ticked him off. The youngest turtle had never hidden any part of himself before and now he'd cut himself off completely. Raph promised himself that when they found out where their brother was, the one's who took him were going to beg him to kill them long before he was done with them. This much, he promised.

* * *

Vanessa frowned at the pellets she was to feed every animal in her care. Even the ones who looked like carnivores, such as the lizard cat, ate them. Sniffing them in disdain, she wrinkled her nose. All the cages bowls had been filled, save one. She had not yet approached the largest cage in the farthest corner. Turning hazel eyes in that direction, she chewed her bottom lip.

She'd arrived pretty early in the morning, eager to spend the first hour of her shift getting to know the computer programs she was expected to use and the filing system. Unsurprisingly, the filing cabinet was in every bit of disarray that the supplies closet had been. She'd started to organize it, but became distracted when she saw two men dressed in green and wearing hospital masks wheeled the turtle man back to his cage. She'd frozen, holding the files, then rushed to the door to discreetly watch them as they pulled him off the stretcher none-too gently. She'd winced when his shell hit the ground with a loud _'thwack'_! However, the turtle seemed unconscious, but had groaned.

He just seemed too human to give him pellets like he was some sort of pet. He'd even talked to her! Resolutely, she folded the bag and returned it to the closet, grabbing the first aid kit she figured she'd need and tucking it under her arm. Then, hurrying to her office, she retrieved the ham sandwich and soda she'd packed for herself before walking briskly to the large cage. The thought that the food she gave him might interfere with whatever tests Dr. White was conducting poked the back of her mind, but she ignored it, remembering the sad call of _'brother'_ the turtle had made. It led her to believe that there was at least one other like him and he obviously missed him.

When she paused at the door of his cage, she noticed that the turtle was hanging his head. His breathing was not labored, but definitely was not deep, so she knew he was awake, though he made no move to acknowledge her. Deftly, she juggled the first aid kit, sandwich, and soda as she unlocked the door and moved in, dropping the supplies near him. He shifted as she sat beside him, stomach a little uneasy. How could she know he wouldn't randomly lash out at her? He was locked up for a reason.

_'Yes, so he won't escape. Not because he is violent,'_ she reprimanded herself. Nothing about this turtle seemed remotely aggressive. He looked... broken. He didn't look at her until she said," Hi."

At her greeting, the turtle man lifted his head and looked at her sadly. His expression made her falter and wonder how a creature with such gentle eyes could possibly have ended up in a place like this. Just like the time before, those blue eyes impressed upon her that they once glowed with life and laughter. He was not naturally such a sad creature.

"Hey," he finally replied, gaze dropping from her to the sandwich.

Mikey blinked a few times as his eyes landed on the sandwich wrapped in a ziploc bag. His lips formed a frown and his eye ridges furrowed, his defenses rising. Was she really that thoughtless to eat a sandwich in front of him when all he'd had in weeks were those disgusting pellets? He was half temped to snag the sandwich and eat it, bag and all. Had to be better than the crud he'd been eating. He thought it had been a joke when he'd first been served it in a plastic dog dish and, of course had refused to eat it, but that only lasted a few days until he felt so weak and tired that he forced himself to eat them. He may as well have eaten dirt.

The woman eyed him nervously, picking up the plastic bag and can. To his surprise, she tentatively placed them closer to him and said," I brought these for you. I uh... don't know if you like ham and um... coke. I might have a water bottle, if you'd prefer that..."

The turtle's eyes widened and stared at her as if she was the most peculiar thing he'd ever seen. She blushed a little under his gaze and wondered if she was wrong to offer the food. Perhaps he didn't like regular food…

Slowly, a three fingered hand reached forward to take the offering.

"T-thank you," he rasped, trying to suppress the stinging behind his eyes as he pulled the sandwich out, gently squeezing it between his fingers as if to test to see if it was real. The bread was soft and fluffy under his fingers. Bringing it closer to his face, he smelled it and closed his eyes. A ham sandwich had never smelled so good. He took a large bite and hummed at the delicious taste, though there was nothing particularly amazing about this sandwich. It was only a couple slices of ham, a little mayonnaise, and bread.

Vanessa watched him eat, smiling when he made small delighted sounds. Warmth spread in her stomach and she was glad she had decided to give it to him. She had a granola bar in her purse to hold her off until dinner. She wouldn't mind the slight hunger pangs after seeing him all but devour the sandwich. He was such a large turtle that she doubted that it filled him, but he didn't appear to mind as he popped the last piece into his mouth and licked his fingers.

Swallowing, shy eyes found hers again and she was shocked to see that they were red rimmed. He sniffed as a tear fell down his cheek. He hastily rubbed it away and bowed lowly, pressing his head to the ground.

"Thank you so much," He said, his voice thick. Her face flushed and she looked around as if someone might see. In her life, no one had ever appreciated anything she did. Of course, she'd always been rather clumsy and forgetful, so a lot of attention she got was negative. It was a little unnerving to receive such heartfelt gratitude and she really wasn't sure how to react. Him bowing made it even worse. She could feel the heat rising up her neck and stammered.

"P-please," she begged, grabbing his arm and trying to push him back into a sitting position," It was just a sandwich! I was happy to share! I'll bring another for you tomorrow, if you'd like."

He rose and a shaky smile curved his lips. He nodded slightly," I would love it."

"Good. Do you like coke?" She asked and he nodded again, more fervently this time and she couldn't help but smile as he eagerly opened the can and drank it. She observed him as he drank greedily until the can was completely empty, then he sighed and smiled appreciatively. His eyes were still very sad, but the smile fit him so well, she found herself returning it.

Without a word, she unshackled one of his wrists and began to unwind the bandages she'd applied the day before. They were all ready pretty dirty and slightly damp with a mix of sweat and blood. She winced at the cuts encircling his wrist, noting that they looked a little deeper. New blood had seeped through and glistened as it was exposed. Shaking her head slightly, Vanessa wondered what on earth they were doing to this poor turtle.

Mikey watched her as she cleaned his wounds. They stung a little, but she handled his wrists with great care. He was never fully conscious of inflicting the wounds upon himself, but he knew that he'd gotten them from fighting against the shackles in that horrible room. If he ever managed to escape, he knew he would have nightmares about clawed globes hanging from the ceiling. Though, he wouldn't mind having nightmares for the rest of his life if it would get him out of this place. Until then, he had to struggle to survive and hope his brothers would find him soon.

Until then, he would hopefully see more of this woman who shocked him with her calm treatment of him. It wasn't everyday one saw a giant, mutated turtle, yet she was barely flinching at the sight of his strange face. He watched her thoughtfully as she dressed his wounds.

She was bold, he noted, sitting so close to him. For all she knew, he could be a crazed monster. She was easily within arm's reach, but appeared amicable despite his unusual appearance. Her hands were soft and warm on his forearm and his skin tingled under the contact he hadn't had in so long. He closed his eyes and relished the touch, picturing better times in better places.

When she finished the first arm and re-cuffed it, he pulled it close to him. He could still almost feel the fingers, unafraid to touch him. Opening his eyes and cocking his head, he asked," What's your name?"

She froze and held his other arm suspended between them. Surprised by his question, she did not answer right away. A nervous heat tinged her cheeks and she shrugged a shoulder before ducking her head to focus on her task.

"Um, I'm Vanessa. It's only my second day. Can you tell?" She asked, laughing a little as she ran a shaking hand through her unruly hair.

Mikey nodded, smiling at her uneasiness," Yes, but only because you're not like... _them_."

He spat the word and glared over his shoulder at the door to his cage. As far as he was concerned the men he normally saw could barely be described as human. They looked at him like he wasn't even a living thing and apparently saw nothing wrong with putting him through such excruciating experiments. His mouth formed a scowl for a few moments, before he turned to her and offered the newly bandaged hand and a warm smile. She was definitely different. Only two days into the job and she'd shown more concern for him that anyone else had the entire time he'd been there put together!

"My name is Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey! Everyone else does!"

Vanessa was taken aback by his excited tone and pleased, too that he had given her permission to be familiar with him. As his large hand enveloped hers, she wondered if any one else in the building knew his name. She seriously doubted it. She especially couldn't see anyone calling him 'Mikey'. To them he was only an experiment number. That prompted her to question," Who is everyone?"

Instantly, the turtle's expression was consumed with sadness again and he shook his head," It doesn't matter. I'll never see them again, anyway..."

Just like that, he clammed back up and did not say anything as she finished his other arm and checked his other bandages. She now regretted asking. She had so many other questions she wanted to ask him, but it was clear that he was not in the mood to talk anymore. Packing everything back into the first aid kit and gathering the debris from his lunch, she stood and walked to the door.

"Vanessa?" Mikey called and she turned to face him, though he had not lifted his head to look at her," Thank you."

"You're welcome... Mikey."

The click of the lock as the gears moved into place seemed condemningly loud. It had bothered her only as little the day before that this turtle was locked up, but now it felt completely wrong. Every nerve in her conscience twitched guiltily, but she only hooked the keys to her belt and walked away. For the rest of the day, she could hardly focus on the paper work she had to fill out, let alone the tons of organizing she still had to do. She felt horrible. She was every bit as bad as those who experimented on him because she was the one locking him up. As she thought about the warmth she briefly saw in his bright eyes, she vowed to do everything in her power to make him as comfortable as possible.


	4. Chapter 4

Finding Who We Are

Chapter Four:

Vanessa hummed to herself as she made her way through the halls of HueCorp. As she was finally finishing up her first week, she was starting to remember the winding passages. At least the ones that led her to her office, which, by the way, was almost completely reorganized. During the week, she spent all of her free time neatening and going through files. It seemed that most of the creatures in the lab were created there, with the exception of a certain turtle she found herself spending more and more time with. She was dedicating her lunches to him, now, packing two bags. She smiled as she remembered the look Mikey had given her when she sat across from him to enjoy her meal with him. He'd seemed... happy. As happy as one could be when locked up in a lab.

As usual, the halls were bare. HueCorp did not seem to have many employees. So far, she'd only seen Dr. White, Richard, and a few people in green, whose faces were never revealed and whom did not seem to have any inclination to talk to her. Ever. IF she said anything, they would no so much as glance in her direction. This was all quite fine with her, though. The less attention she got, the better. She wasn't sure she wanted anyone to know that she was sneaking food in for the mutant turtle that seemed to be Dr. White's favorite subject. Mikey almost never got a break. He was in the lab daily.

They never addressed what went on in the lab, however. Vanessa felt too guilty to ask about it and Mikey had no desire to to talk about it. He seemed to favor talking about her life, skillfully dancing around any questions about his own life before HueCorp. She got the impression that he wanted to keep it hidden and she had no doubt in her mind that it was because of his 'brother', she'd heard him moan about when he was unconscious. This brother of his was likely a mutant turtle as well and as curious as she was about how they had come to be, she understood Mikey's fear for his brother's life. He didn't want him to end up in a lab, too. Considering Vanessa worked for the lab that contained Mikey, she knew that if he trusted her at all, it was very little and very shaky.

The woman, who was juggling her purse and a grocery bag carrying her lunch sighed in relief as she neared her office. Only a few more twists and turns and she would be in the clear. No unwanted run-ins or uncomfortable conversation. Though they had not talked much, Richard seemed interested in trying to corner her before she got to her office. He'd offered to buy her coffee once, which of course, she refused and skedaddled as fast as she could. As she rounded a corner, her heart stopped and she froze as a gut-wrenchingly familiar scream pierced the silence.

"Mikey..." She breathed. Swallowing bile, she did not move until the horrifying sound died. It was impossible to tell which direction it had come from. Not that she could have done anything anyway. Disgust settled in her stomach as she continued her way to the office and disappeared inside the large metal door. She put her lunch into the desk and booted up her computer, but did not start work right away. She laced her fingers, elbows resting on the desk and rested her mouth against them. She stared blankly at the screen as her ears strained for any sound that might indicate Mikey's return to her care. She was met with silence for almost an hour and she shoved away the thought that the scientists might have killed him. She really did not want to think about that, though it was quite common for test subjects to die. In a week she'd all ready written countless reports for the unfortunate victims.

Finally she heard foot steps nearing and she jerked out of her thoughts, opening a file and typing randomly. No one would come in to see what she was doing. As the door swung open, Vanessa acted as if she didn't care what the men in green were doing, but from the corner of her eye she could see them wheeling in the giant turtle she'd been fretting about. Mikey was groaning and whimpering slightly and her throat thickened. She couldn't believe she worked for such sick people. If not her, though, someone much worse could be in her spot and who would care for Mikey, then? She couldn't imagine that many people in her field would consider him anything more than an experiment. Vanessa had always been considered to have a weak heart in the classes she took. She'd been teased for the remorse she felt for the subjects they'd tested on.

The woman continued to type until the men in green left and she heard their footsteps fade away. Then, she paused and listened for a moment more. Hearing no sound, she stood abruptly, snatching the first aid kit she now kept in her desk, and hurried towards Mikey's cage. Whereas he had been making small, pain filled sounds before, now silence rang in her ears and she hoped he was alive.

She couldn't unlock the cage fast enough. Fumbling with the many keys on the ring, her hands shook as she stared at the back of Mikey's shell. He was unmoving and from the angle she was at, she couldn't even see if he was breathing. At long last, the lock clicked open and she hurried to his side. Gently placing a hand on his shoulder she turned him onto his back. His lips were parted and he was panting quietly.

"Mikey?" She asked, staring at his face for any reaction. His eyes blinked open and squinted at her.

"V'nessa?" he asked blearily, quite out of it. He shook his head and tried to clear up the jumbled mess it had become after his last round of yellow swirly stuff. As it was, the crawling in his skin was slowing, but had yet to completely subside.

"Yeah..." Vanessa's voice cracked as she observed the turtle. Minor injuries on his arms and legs, but his wrists were bleeding heavily as usual. Shaking her head angrily, she flipped through her keys until she found a smaller silver one. Poising it at the shackles, she looked at him.

"I'm going to take these off, okay," She explained," Both of them. Your wrists need a break. It's a miracle your hands haven't fallen off completely."

Until that point, she'd only removed one at a time, cautiously replacing the first before removing the second. Mikey expected it. He would never have hurt her or tried to run, anyway. Even if he did manage to get out of the prison, he'd seen the winding confusing hallways. He'd be sure to get lost in those alone and discovered long before he found an exit.

Mikey's vision swam as he sat up and his mind was consumed with dizziness, but he closed his eyes and held himself still as she removed each cuff. When he felt like he could open his eyes again without passing out, he rolled his hands, enjoying the freedom. As he examined his wrists, though, he frowned. The bandages he still wore were hardly visible from being so drenched in blood. No wonder he was so dizzy.

Both forearms were entirely bruised. The purple rose to his elbows. He realized that he probably gave quite a fight, even if he wasn't fully aware of it all the time. He watched as Vanessa handled each arm gently, removing the bandages and cleaning the wounds once again. It stung, but Mikey didn't make a sound. The woman worked in silence, unaware of his observation. Her face was twisted with concern as she focused on her task.

Mikey knew it was pure luck that someone like her had landed this job. He doubted anyone else would have taken such great care when tending to his wounds. He wasn't sure if another person would even have done such a good job. As far as he knew, her job was to keep him alive, not make him comfortable. He was just an animal, after all. Why would it matter if he got an infection?

As the woman before him finished wiping up all the blood, she smeared cool white cream over both wounds, applying it thickly to prevent any infection. Mikey crossed his legs as he continued to watch her. His mind was finally clearing enough that he could hear his own thoughts. He had to admit that he'd been a little afraid of Vanessa at first, but over the last few days, he looked forward to her company. she always brought him food and kindly veered away from uncomfortable topics during their conversations. For about an hour, he was able to pretend that he wasn't someone's experiment.

He could tell that she was uncomfortable being the center of attention, but she indulged him with little stories about her family. He was surprised to find, though that she wasn't on good terms with any one of her relatives and lived alone in a rather beat up part of town. When he expressed that she should try to find a better location, she laughed and shook her head, claiming that no one paid any mind to her. She said she had a way of blending into the walls. No one looked twice at her, she explained. He somehow doubted that, but didn't say so.

As the woman finished up the bindings, she smiled hesitantly and he smiled back.

"I'll be fine," he reassured.

She nodded," I have to go make sure everyone else has food, then I'll come back. I skipped breakfast, so I can do with a little food now and I'm sure you could, too."

As if to prove her point, Mikey's stomach growled and he laughed, rubbing his head self consciously," Guess there's no fooling you!"

The laugh lightened Vanessa's mood considerably. He so rarely showed any form of happiness that coaxing out a laugh, as little as it was, made her feel like she had accomplished something great. She beamed at him and stood to leave, hugging the first aid kit to her chest.

"Uh, Vanessa?" Mikey asked, holding up his still unshackled wrists," Forgetting something."

She turned briefly to say," Don't know what you're talking about. I didn't forget anything."

The door shut behind her and she walked away. Michelangelo smiled to himself and looked at his un-cuffed wrists. As he had many times before, he wondered how a woman like her ended up in a place like this. He was also baffled at how he could be so lucky to have been sent her aid. He didn't have his brothers to comfort him, but at least someone was there and it made it just a little easier to survive.

From being shackled, he hadn't been able to walk around much before, but he used his time to do so now. He walked in a circle around the cage and then to the bars. He couldn't see the woman, but he could hear her walking around and tsk-ing as she tended to the animals further away. She had a routine, he knew. She started at the far end and would work towards him. She often muttered to herself, which amused him. She obviously spent a lot of time alone and with no one but herself to talk to.

Mikey's legs ached, but he was no going to sit down until he had to. He spent every day chained to the blasted wall and all he could to was sit. So, he leaned against the bars, arms hanging through them as he waited for the woman to return. After almost two hours, she was close enough that he could see her, but she was so caught up in scribbling on her clip board that she didn't notice him watching her. He could tell she was gentle with all the animals. Her personality said as much, but he could also hear her murmuring comfortingly to each one. Even the evil cat thing who always hissed at her.

Finally, she reached the cage next to his and after several minutes, she was walking back to her office. Mikey knew that she would spend a little while in there and would at last return to his cage. He continued to wait, not moving from the bars as she appeared carrying a plastic grocery bag.

Vanessa blinked at Mikey. She'd never seen him stand up before. She'd never really thought about the possibility that he was able to. Yet, here he was leaning against the bars, arms hanging over and watching her seriously. His eyes roamed down then back up to her face. She flushed under his scrutiny and frowned at him.

"You're short," He stated.

Vanessa's jaw dropped," So are you, then! We're the same height!"

And indeed they were. They stood eye to eye. Vanessa huffed as she unlocked the cage and Mikey stepped back, giving her room to enter.

"Yeah. I know that I'm short," he replied," I just wanted to make sure that you know that you are, too."

Having been teased a great deal growing up about her measly 5'2" stature, she folded her arms, preparing to clam up indignantly, but as she turned to glare at him, she saw that he was smiling. Blinking, she realized that his teasing was not malicious and her irritation melted. She'd become very defensive, she supposed. It was the product of years of harassment.

A little embarrassed, she moved past him and sat on the ground, pulling the lunch she made from the bag. He sat across from her, looking very eager to dig in. She tried to bring something different everyday. She enjoyed variety and she was sure Mikey did, too. This time, she'd stopped at a sandwich place and grabbed meatball subs for them both. Little bags of chips and chocolate chip cookies were also inside. She grabbed a couple extra cookies for the turtle, who was licking his lips as he surveyed all the food.

As Vanessa separated her half from his, she made sure to give him the bigger sub, both bags of chips, and all but one of the cookies. His sky blue eyes lit up as he unwrapped the sub and took a giant bite out of it. It wasn't warm anymore, but the taste was amazing! Mikey moaned happily as he swallowed.

"These are pretty good, but mine are way better! The secret is in the meatballs!" He commented, not noticing his slip into his personal life as he took another mouthful. Vanessa knew he hated talking about himself, but she couldn't help but ask because picturing Mikey in a kitchen wearing an apron and cooking meatball subs was shocking, to say the least.

"You can cook?" Even as she said it, she knew the question was silly. Of course he did. Someone had to and she doubted he had maid service. He'd yet to be surprised by anything she brought, so it was safe to assume that he did not eat lettuce and veggies everyday. In fact, if he ate them at all, she'd be surprised. He seemed to love junk food.

"Er... yeah," Mikey said nervously, frowning at his sandwich," I used to. It was a hobby, I guess."

Despite his change in demeanor, Vanessa pressed on," What was your favorite thing to cook?"

Something that resembled excitement flashed across his eyes, but was gone in an instant," Um... pizza. Made that a lot."

"I take it that's also your favorite thing to eat, then, hm?" She asked and received a nod," I'll bring some on Monday, since I'm off tomorrow and Sunday. I bet you miss it."

Vanessa realized that it was probably cruel to question him, but she wanted to know about him, too. He'd practically learned her whole history in the week they'd known each other. She didn't expect him to spill his guts to her, but little things would be cool to know. For instance, his likes and dislikes would be interesting. So far, all she knew was that he was a mutated turtle and might have a brother. Also, that he had a sense of humor, though it rarely appeared. He nodded sadly in response to her question, but smiled a little when she offered to bring some for him.

He would appreciate it, though he'd miss her company the two days she'd be gone. Richard would probably tend to him in her absence. The man barely glanced at his wounds when he was there and had no qualms with feeding him pellets. Mikey tried talking to him at first, but the man ignored him.

"Mikey how old are you?" Vanessa changed the subject at his obvious discomfort. He polished off his sandwich before answering, a little more comfortable with this one.

"Twenty two," He replied, peeling open a bag of chips.

"You're so young!" The woman exclaimed. He definitely _looked_ older. Of course, he'd gone through much more than any other twenty two year old she'd ever known. His physique was youthful, but his eyes seemed to reflect age.

"Why do you say that?" He asked between mouthfuls of chips," How old are you? You can't be much older than me. You look like a kid."

Vanessa scowled and rolled her eyes. She'd always looked young for her age. She still got skeptical looks when she was carded at stores.

"Twenty four. Fresh out of college," She replied, nibbling on her cookie as he dug into the second bag of chips. He was devouring the food she brought. She considered bringing more because he had such a huge appetite, it seemed. Typical guy, though. Not to mention his mass. He was a very large, very muscled turtle. She was sure his metabolism was very fast. He probably digested food faster than he could eat it. And that was saying something.

"I hate to say it, but this place doesn't really seem to suit you. What made you want to work for a place like this?" Mikey questioned. She hung her head guiltily, though his tone was far from accusing.

"Well, I majored in Chemistry. In high school, it was the only thing I showed any talent in. I don't particularly enjoy it, but it seemed to make sense to study what I was good at, I guess... after graduating, this place was the only one I could find that was hiring. And really, I don't present myself well, so I should be grateful for whatever job I can get," It was true, she struggled to maintain a decent grade in every other class, but in chemistry, she passed with flying colors.

Mikey's eye ridges furrowed as he looked at her. She had to be insane. She presented herself just fine as far as he was concerned. She was a little shy and introverted, he could tell, but who cared about that? Donny was shy and he was brilliant! If it weren't for the being a turtle thing, he'd be rich. He had the urge to describe Donny to her because she'd probably be able to talk for hours with someone like him, but swallowed it with a giant bite from a cookie. He couldn't risk putting his brothers in danger. He would hate himself if one of them ended up in HueCorp because of him. He doubted Vanessa would willingly tell anyone, but he couldn't take any chances that someone would manipulate the information from her.

"Got to pay my bills, you know?" She added. He nodded in response.

"Yeah, I suppose," He said, pausing before continuing," I'm grateful, though. I'm glad it's you here with me and not someone else."

Vanessa smiled," Me, too."

Her time was disappearing and she sighed. She still had half her sandwich left, but didn't think she was going to finish it. Unwrapping it, she handed it to the turtle across from her. It wouldn't do to leave garbage all over his cell. It would create suspicions that she was eager to avoid.

"Would you like the rest of this? Seeing as how you have a bottomless stomach, and all," She teased gently. He blushed a little, though it was barely noticeable beneath his green skin.

"Sorry," He apologized.

She waved his apology aside," Think nothing of it. It's my pleasure to share lunch with you. I look forward to it."

"I do, too," Mikey took the sandwich and smiled at her as she stood to leave," Thanks for spending your lunch with me. Not many people would find a giant turtle to be good company."

"You'll find that I'm not like most people, Mikey," She gathered the garbage from their lunch and turned to him.

Vanessa frowned as she eyed the shackles on the ground. She hated having to do this, but Mikey smiled reassuringly and scooted to the wall. He held his wrists out obligingly as she re-cuffed them. Her hand rested on the cold metal as she locked the second one and glanced sadly up at him. She wanted to apologize for taking part in his torture, but couldn't find the words. He only stared back at her, his expression too kind. She couldn't hold it. Guilt dragged her gaze away from him and she headed for the door.

"I'll see you Monday?" Mikey asked her as she locked the door. She gave him a small smile and nodded.

"See you Monday, Mikey..." She softly said before stepping back and walking to her office. She had some paper work to finish then she would go home. Normally, she enjoyed weekends, but she had a feeling that this one was going to be a long one plagued with thoughts of the turtle she was befriending and worry for his safety.

* * *

A/N: I wanted to thank everyone who has reviewed this story! It means so much to me to hear back from you guys! Also, wanted to wish everyone a Happy Be-lated Thanksgiving. I had to meet in-laws yesterday. Oh joy... nosy aunts and uncles, and noisy cousins who _love_ slamming doors. Oy...


	5. Chapter 5

Finding Who We Are

Chapter 5:

Michelangelo didn't fight when the men in green came to retrieve him early in the morning. He didn't have it in him anymore. Without the morning practice and katas Leo had forced him to do, he could feel his muscles weakening. However that wasn't what stopped him. He still had strength enough to struggle if he wanted to, but he lacked the spirit. Every day that passed, he felt a little less hope for survival. If his brothers had not found him yet, after almost a month, they were not going to.

Donatello had the resources to track down almost anyone and he knew that his older brother would have exercised every tactic he knew how. Mikey knew his brothers would never stop looking, but how could they ever find him? He'd been wheeled through the white halls enough to know that they were a maze. He'd never find his way through them, though he traveled them daily. He knew his brothers wouldn't stand a chance. And that was if they even figured out where he was to begin with.

The men in green had taken Saturday off, so Mikey was given a little break. Richard filed in at some point, clip board in hand and a tiny machine in tow, which he used to check the turtle's stats. Mikey said nothing to him as he scribbled away and poured pellets into a plastic bowl. Michelangelo wanted to ignore them, but if he didn't eat it before the next morning, the man would become suspicious and document it. Which could possibly get Vanessa into trouble. And after everything she'd done for him, he wasn't going to risk it.

Perhaps it was his own selfish desire to keep the only companion he had. She'd been so tentative at first, but he could see that she was opening up. Under different circumstances, that may not have been so. She was such a timid person that he seriously doubt she would have remained calm under his old, loud and obnoxious personality. That part of him seemed so... dead. He wasn't sure he could smile if he tried.

He was all ready awake when two men filed into his cage, a rolling metal table between them. Mikey knew the routine. He stood and waited for the cuffs around his wrists and ankles to be removed, then the collar. A man grasped each of his arms tightly, though he made no move to pull away. Obligingly he lay on the table, though his heart began to race in fear of the torture he knew he was about to endure. How he hated the pain that awaited him. As if sensing his anxiety, a gentle buzzing of the remaining bug things under his skin stirred and he closed his eyes as if to block them out somehow.

He felt straps tighten around his wrists and ankles and he tried to keep his breathing even as he willed his nerves to calm. The wheels squeaked as he was rolled through the halls. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see those sickening white walls. Everything outside of his cell was so white. Blindingly white. He hated it.

At long last, after countless twists and turns, the table paused and Mikey heard one of the men unlock the door to the room he had nightmares about. He swallowed thickly as he was pushed inside. He felt gloved fingers press against his wrist for a minute, then they tentatively pried open his mouth. The fingers shook a little and he felt a little pride in the fact that it was because he'd bitten one of them before. Hard. He was sure he'd even tasted blood, which had been surprisingly sweet. It scared him a little.

Was he truly turning into an animal? He'd never bitten anyone again, though he'd had the strange urge to. Not to frighten them, but to experience that sweet, metallic tasting liquid again. Even then, as they lifted one of his eye lids to check his pupils, he considered how easy it would be to quickly turn his head and lock his teeth on the tender flesh. Those powdery white gloves would not hinder the action in the least bit. However, he guiltily shoved the violent thoughts away and shuddered.

_What's happening to me?_ He wondered.

Finally, the men were gone and he opened his eyes. It would be a little while yet until Dr. White would come. The cocky man took his time as if he knew how much the turtle hated the room. As if he enjoyed the pain it caused to force him to lie there and stare at the clawed globe that loomed over him.

Mikey defiantly kept his eyes closed. Sometimes, his mind played tricks on him and that bulb would morph into a giant mouth surrounded by razor sharp teeth waiting to consume him. Strange visions like that seemed to be happening more and more often. Things would look like something they were not. Usually something monstrous. One night, long after Vanessa had left, the bars to his cage had melted into a gleaming, grinning, fanged grin that closed in on him. And more than once, he'd woken feeling as though a demon had just been sitting beside him.

The turtle swallowed thickly. He missed the lair so much. He missed Donny's geek babble and Raphael's never ending need to pummel him. He even missed the long lectures Master Splinter gave him. But, what he missed most was his oldest brother. Leo had always been there to chase away monsters, even when the terror had been Raph. Leo was his protector and since he was a child, he'd always adored him.

As if his inner turmoil had been heard, Mikey felt a familiar gentle brush against his consciousness and he gasped in disbelief.

"Leo!"

* * *

Leonardo sat in his room with his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees with his palms facing up. In front of him, he'd laid out some of Mikey's possessions: a comic book, a sketch book, and his pillow case. He was sure sitting in his little brothers room would probably be more effective, but he couldn't manage it. He tried once to meditate on Mikey's bed, but the scent of sweat, dirt, and old pizza that lingered in the room and he could not concentrate on finding his brother. He could only think about how much he missed him. So, he moved to his own room, taking a few of his brother's belongings.

He could hear Donny and Raph talking in Donny's room. They were reviewing all the labs in the city for now. Once they eliminated them, they would move onto the others in the state. Donny was good at strategy, so Leo let him handle it. Raph just wanted to feel involved and needed something to sooth the anger that was threatening to consume him. The longer Mikey was missing, the more Raph was in danger of losing himself.

Leo listened to them for a moment before taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly through his nose, tuning them out. He concentrated on breathing evenly and smoothly, then focused on the things on his bed. They still held the essence of Mikey and he drew that from them before reaching out for his brother. Though he had tried this many times and had been unsuccessful, he tried every day. Almost all day. More than once Donny had to drag him out of his room and remind him to eat. Eating seemed like a waste of time. How could he eat when his baby brother was missing? All he could think about was finding him. That was more important than anything in the world.

The lair seemed dimmer without Mikey. No. It didn't _seem_ dimmer. It was. Mikey had such a bright soul, he glowed every where he went. His light could touch anyone, even the dark and brooding Raph. Their lives lost meaning without the loud, tinkering laugh of their youngest brother breaking the otherwise silence of the lair. Everything was duller without him.

The blue banded turtle wasn't sure how long he sat on his bed meditating. Minutes. Hours. However, he jolted in surprise when he felt a familiar movement respond to his blind probing. It was Mikey! He was reaching for him and Leo eagerly reached back.

In his mind, he saw his brother form before him. He looked beaten and was covered in bandages. His bandanna, belt, pads, and nunchakus were missing. Mikey looked around in confusion until his blue eyes landed on his older brother. He didn't move, as if hesitating, but in an instant, he threw himself at Leo.

Leo hugged him, feeling tears prickle his eyes.

"Mikey..." He said, voice shaking," You're alive..."

"Leo... Leo..." Mikey whimpered, burying his face against him.

"I'm here..." Leo consoled, but his brother shook his head.

"No... no, you're not. Not really," He whispered back and his voice cracked as he tightened his grip," I miss you so much, Leo!"

"I know, Mikey. I miss you too, Otouto," Leo soothed, pulling back to cup the younger turtle's cheek. Mikey leaned into the touch, though he could not really feel it. He could almost imagine his older brother's hand gently caressing his cheek.

"You have to tell me where you are, Mike... we're going to get you-"

Leo cursed out loud as he felt their connection break suddenly. He could no longer communicate in words. Anger ignited in his heart as he felt fear consume his little brother. He did his best to push that feeling away and push feelings of love and comfort back, though he wasn't sure if they were received because his connection was severed completely.

Raphael and Donatello heard Leonardo curse loudly and glanced to the door. Donny stopped typing the list he was making of all the labs in the area. They were discussing and considering which ones were most likely to have Mikey when they heard Leo cry out. They were quickly at his door, Raph in the lead just as Leo roared and hurled all of Mikey's things off of his bed. They hit the wall solidly, the sound seeming to echo.

Leo's head fell into his hands and a strangled sob left his lips. Anguished tears spilled from his fingers and Raph found himself rooted to the spot watching his older brother breaking down. The sight stabbed him in the heart and he hung his head. Donny pushed passed him to sit beside Leo and hug him. Leo tried to push him away at first, but Donny only held tight and the oldest turtle gave up, allowing himself to lean heavily on him. After some time, Leo finally spoke, though he did not pull away from his younger brother.

"I had h-him..." He stammered," I s-spoke to Mikey."

"What?" Raphael gasped, pushing from the door way to drop on his knees before the other two. He grasped Leo's hand and peered up at him," What did he say? Where is he?"

"T-the connection w-was broken b-before he could answer," Leo responded," God, Raph! He's so afraid! He's scared to death and I c-can't even-"

Raphael growled and felt his own eyes prickle at the news. Leo had been so close. Mikey had been right there and the monsters who held him captive stole him away. And he was scared. He knew that's what bothered Leo the most. Their precious brother was scared for his life and they were sitting ducks. Snarling, Raphael stood and roughly yanked Leo to his feet.

"Stop blubberin' like an idiot! It's time we take action!" He spat," We're gonna find Mikey if it's da last thing we do! Donny get yer list. We're startin' t'night. I don't care if we have ta go through every damn lab in da city! We're getting our brothah back!"

* * *

Mikey cried out and his eyes flew open as his connection with Leo was broken. Tense, he looked around frantically for the noise which drew him away from the mental link. Dr. White had entered with Richard and the two green men. His heart leaped into his throat and his heart began to pound frantically. He jerked on the cuffs, though he knew at this point that it was useless. The humans ignored him as they proceeded to place those circular stickers methodically on his skin.

Just as he saw Dr. White procure a syringe filled with the yellow substance that was too familiar for comfort, he felt one last gentle, loving brush against his mind and tears filled his eyes. He wanted Leo. He wanted to be home. He wanted his brothers. Though it stung very little, he cried out when the needle was plunged into his arm. His muscles stiffened as he felt the new wave of bug things start to crawl through him; a tiny buzz of foreign life that vibrated under his skin.

Dr. White and Richard stood beside him, masks covering their nose and mouths as the two in green fumbled with machines along the wall. One of them returned to him to put a rolled up piece of cloth in between his upper and lower jaw. Michelangelo growled and glared furiously at the doctor beside him, jerking as if he wanted to attack him. Dr. White finally took notice of him and his icy eyes fell to his. They seemed to glitter in amusement as he watched the angry creature struggle.

This mockery only fueled the new found anger in the turtle and he growled more loudly, jerking his arm so hard he was in danger of dislocating it. It was bad enough that this man experimented on him daily, but to disconnect the only link he'd had to his older brother in a month was like throwing more wood into a growing fire. Anger flooded his mind and all he could think about was hurting the man. He struggled violently against the restraints, desperate to wrap his hands around this man's neck. Smirking, Dr. White raised his hand and made a small gesture with his fingers.

Sharp blue sparks circled the teeth hanging from the ceiling for only a second before coursing into Mikey. As if all the microscopic bugs had been thrown into a high, they darted all over his body, clawing viciously from the inside. He could feel them as if they all had tiny shovels and were burrowing through him.

He shook as he tried to suppress the pressure building in his chest, but as he felt them pushing closer to the surface of his skin than they ever had before a hair curling scream burst from his gagged mouth, nearly choking him. Mikey arched his back and twisted, but there was no escaping. They were slicing right through his skin. Hot knives carving from within. He was going to die. They were going to carve him alive.

Eyes squeezing shut and jaw clenching, the turtle growled, twisting his head back and forth as the foreign material crawled into his mind, tickling over the surface before diving in. He yelped as his head pulsated and he felt himself losing consciousness. The room swam before him, the doctors blurring and the pain dulling.

"R-ree-oh," He tried to moan his brother's name as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, the tears that had been gathering in them falling in a small stream down his cheeks.

Dr. White watched the turtle frantically struggle in vain and had to roll his eyes. This turtle seemed particularly stupid. All the other animals gave up after a time and let him do what he needed to, but this one fought him all the way. He had a feeling this was what made his experiments fail. His body rejected the injections and he constantly had to replenish the supply. This experiment had come to cost him a great deal, but if he got it to work, he would be rich and how he got there would no longer matter.

Just as he was about to write this one off as another failure, the turtle's eyes rolled, revealing white orbs webbed with bulging, irritated veins. A black pattern started to appear on his shoulders steadily moving down his arms and up his neck. Soon the tribal like design pulsed like a heart beat all over his skin.

Richard's eyes widened in disbelief and Dr. White sneered, pushing him away to lean closer, grinning. _It was working!_ He realized with a grunt of triumph. Gingerly, he ran a finger over the turtle's shoulder and his muscles twitched, bulging more with the encouragement of his precious creation. Though his eyes still only showed white, the turtle turned it's head towards him and in one fluid movement, ripped the chains from the table, snarling and drooling.

Laughing manically, he said," We have success here boys! Tranq him!"

In seconds, the men in green were across the room and jabbing another needle into the turtle's arm. The green creature's eyes closed and it passed out, though the markings did not fade, but continued to pulse in a steady rhythm.

Richard looked uncertainly at his boss as the man rubbed his hands together and he wondered what on earth he'd gotten himself into.


	6. Chapter 6

Finding Who We Are

Chapter Six:

The long rows of cages were mysteriously quiet when Vanessa returned Monday morning. She frowned as she settled her belongings into her office, hiding the gallon size ziploc bag stuffed full of slices of pizza she brought for a certain turtle. She brought a duffel to put medical supplies into in order to made her long round of treating injured animals shorter. So she wouldn't have to make so many trips back to the storage closet to get more gauze or syringes.

She stocked the black duffel until it was almost bursting wit medical supplies and slung it over her shoulder, grabbing the clip boards she would need to note conditions and changes. Finally, she grabbed the bag of kibble and balanced it on the clip boards.

As usual, there were quite a few lab mice that had died. She was disposing of their tiny bodies daily. Dutifully, she put on gloves and removed them one by one, placing them in little air tight bags to be frozen for further study. She left their corpses by the small animals cages. She would return to gather them and bring them to the freezer on her way back.

Coming to the medium size crates, a low growl greeted her and she sighed as she noted that the German Shepherd that had so far remained somewhat normal snarled at her, drool dripping from it's angry fangs. His eyes were jet black, the whites no longer visible. He looked like something from a horror movie. Like '_The Omen_' or something.

Outside of the cage, she set her duffel down and pulled out a sedative.

She hated to do this to the beautiful creature that, in the past, had been so sweet, but he did not seem to recognize her. As she unlocked the cage, he lunged, but the metal collar around his neck prevented him from getting hold of her. He shook his head, disoriented and she took the opportunity to jab the needle into his neck, pulling back quickly.

The dog growled one last time before slumping forward. As she ran her hands over his body, checking for any abrasions or broken bones, he continued to growl half heartedly.

"I'm sorry, big guy..." She apologized, scratching his ear. His head moved slightly as if he wanted nothing more than to bite her. She nodded and sighed, pulling back and locking the cage. This was part of her job, after all. These were test subjects. They were more likely to die than live. Instinctively, her gaze went to the eerily quiet cage at the very end of the room. She was eager to see Mikey today. She wanted to see his face light up when she presented the pizza. The expression was so rare and fleeting, but whenever she could coax it forward, she cherished it.

Only a few more cages and then she could look in on the turtle.

She paused the scribbling on her clip board as she neared a larger cage and frowned. It was so quiet. Glancing up, she noticed that the cat reptile was gone. It's cage had been emptied and sanitized. Slowly, she lowered the clip board and stared at the empty chains on the wall. The cage still smelled strongly of bleach. The poor creature had been vicious at best and she knew that whenever it looked at her, it was thinking about ripping her throat out, but she felt some what sad that it was gone.

Shaking her head, she lifted the duffel and moved towards the cage she was so anxious to enter. A smile spread across her lips as she approached, but it froze there and her eyes widened and she looked inside.

The walls and floor were red. Blood was smeared over every surface except for about two feet in front of the door.

"Mikey!" She gasped, fumbling clumsily with the keys as her heart pounded in fear.

The turtle had his shell towards her, so she couldn't see his face at first, but slowly he lifted his head and turned empty, white eyes to her form. Her heart stopped as she looked at the thing in front of her that definitely was not Mikey. Black markings swirled and dipped jaggedly all over his face, neck, arms, and legs. Like an angry tattoo that spread all over his sea green skin. She could not see where the blood was coming from. He seemed to be covered in it.

"Oh Mikey..." She whispered, a hand raising to cover her mouth. He blinked owlishly at her as she slid the key into the door. It clicked as it unlocked and she swung it open, intending to clean him up. But, she took no more than one step into the cage when Mikey threw his head back and let out a roar. It sounded like it had come from an angry, blood thirsty animal, not the sweet turtle she had been spending her lunches with.

Teeth bared, Mikey crouched on all fours, snarling and snapping his teeth. He pulled angrily at his restraints, coughing when the collar pulled against his neck. As he recovered, his muscled arms angrily twisted and jerked, trying to break the chains so he could lunge at her. He let out another angry howl and tried to kick from the wall.

Blood began to soak the bandages around his wrists as he ripped open the wounds beneath.

"Mikey, stop!" Vanessa begged, tears filling her eyes as she looked at him," Please!"

He couldn't hear her. Lip curling, he pulled harshly against the chains, arms lifting from the ground as his feet kicked back. For a moment, he hung like that, his feet and the chains around his neck holding him there, then he fell side ways, only to jump back up and growl furiously.

"What did they do to you?" Vanessa asked in a horrified whisper as she watched the turtle pace back and forth on all fours, stopping only to bare his teeth at her. That's when she noticed that the previously flat teeth had formed into tiny points.

Making a small, strangled sound in her throat, she shakily dug through the medical bag and withdrew a sedative. Sniffling she willed herself to calm down as she checked the liquid for air bubbles, then cautiously took a step towards Mike.

The turtle instantly froze and turned his attention to her, waiting.

"I'm r-really sorry, Mikey... t-this is for your own good... y-you're going to hurt yourself..." Vanessa explained.

When he made no move, she took another tentative step forward," I promise it won't hurt. I-I would n-never hurt you, Mikey..."

She stopped just out of his reach and swallowed thickly. She knew she could do this. She'd sedated many animals before.

_Mikey isn't an animal!_ A voice in her mind argued, but she shoved it away and tensed, readying herself. Holding her breath, she darted forward and plunged the needle into Mikey's tattooed arm. In that same instant, Mikey turned, bellowing an angry mesh of words incoherently, and yanked his arm from her. She didn't have a chance to back away before his head came down and his teeth sank into her still out stretched arm.

"Ah!" Vanessa cried out in shock, hissing as Mikey did not pull his teeth out of her skin. He sat there, growling softly, as the sedation took effect.

Instead of falling like the German Shepherd had, sky blue eyes rolled from the back of his head and tried to focus on her. She swallowed the pain that was erupting in her arm and waited as the real Mikey came to. His muscles were relaxing and slowly, his teeth loosened a bit too. As much as she wanted to, she did not rip her arm from his mouth. She didn't need to.

Mikey's eyes trained on her, then on the arm in his mouth. The blue orbs widened and he pulled back abruptly, stumbling as the sedation weakened his muscles.

"V-v-va..." He tried to say, panting," 'n-nessa"

She ignored the burning pain in her arm and leaned closer to Mikey. Though he cowered away from her, she placed her good hand on his arm. The black markings seemed to move beneath her fingers and she stared at it. Her eyes roamed over his body and she noticed that he seemed... bigger...

When hazel eyes found azure orbs fighting consciousness, she asked," What happened, Mikey?"

"W-white... s-shots... swirl... swirly yellow... um... the eye... and teeth..." He babbled incoherently, his eyes growing distant," L-leo..."

"Leo?" Vanessa asked," who is Leo?"

"B-brother..." Mikey responded, his eye lids drooping.

"Mikey, stay awake!" Vanessa ordered, shaking his arm. She jumped back slightly as the muscle twitched beneath her hand, but she continued determinedly," Michelangelo... how can I find Leo?"

"B-below..." Mikey whispered before he collapsed.

"Below?" Vanessa asked, leaning over him and grasping his shoulders," Below what, Mikey? Mikey!"

However, Mikey did not wake. Panting and trying to fight tears, Vanessa lifted a hand to brush hair out of her eyes, but stopped to stare curiously at her hand. Lifting both of her hands, her brows furrowed as she noticed that they were both covered in blood. She looked back at Mikey. There were no cuts marring his skin.

"How...?" She whispered, wiping her hand on her pants before touching a black stripe on his arm. It seemed to writhe in irritation under her finger. When she pulled back, she noticed that there was blood on her finger. Swallowing bile that had risen in her throat, she stood shakily and backed out of the room.

As she locked the cage, she whispered," I don't know how, Mikey, but I'm going to find Leo. I'll get you out of here. I promise."

With one last, withering look at the unconscious turtle, Vanessa left the bag and clip boards by his cage to go to her office to wrap her bleeding arm. She winced at the teeth marks in a perfect crescent shape. She had to hide this from Dr. White, she knew. He obviously had no qualms with breaking the law and, though she would willingly take Mikey's place if it meant he could be with his brother, again, she would avoid it if possible.

For now, she had to concentrate on freeing him.

Heart pounding in fear of what she was about to do, Vanessa dug through the filing cabinet, looking for Mikey's file. The manila folder bulged with papers and, just as she remembered, an orange bit of cloth folded in a bag. Snatching it from the file, she shoved the folder back and hid the bagged cloth in her pocket.

She had to find Leo somehow. Somehow...

She sat at the computer, staring blankly at documents she opened to appear busy as she contemplated Mikey's dazed words. Below, he'd said. That's where she would find Leo. But, below what? A donut shop? A pet store? An abandoned building? An abandoned building seemed most likely for a couple of mutant brothers to hide. Unfortunately, she knew there were too many abandoned buildings for her to search them all in one night. Still she had to try...

That night, when she clocked out, Mikey still had not woken. She slipped out of the building unnoticed, her hand grasping the little plastic bag in her pocket. She wasn't sure if she would be able to find this Leo, but if she did, she had to have some proof that she really knew his brother.

The streets were dark, but still bustling with people. She looked at them all. Some hid in heavy coats and wore low hats. These ones she tried to catch glimpses of. Sometimes, leaning too close and receiving a sneer or a shove, to which she would mutter an apology.

She came across several abandoned building and walked through them, uncertainly calling out _'Leo'_, though she never received a reply. After hours of searching, she felt herself beginning to wear down, but she refused to go home. Not until she found a way to get Mikey out of that cursed lab.

* * *

Donatello sighed heavily to himself. He and his brothers had split up, each taking a lab and breaking in to look for his little brother. They'd only done this a couple nights, but so far their attempts were completely fruitless. The found nothing beyond the abandoned shell cell that gave any clue about the where abouts of their youngest brother.

The lab he'd chosen to check out was also a bust. While they had several rats and other small animals, there were no turtles inside.

Massaging his temples, he perched on top of the building, taking a breather before he reported to Leo that he found nothing. His older brother, the Fearless leader, was slowly falling apart. The longer Mike was gone, the more the oldest turtle withdrew into himself.

Every second spent at home, Leonardo meditated, desperately trying to contact Mikey again. Donny knew that he wasn't going to. The fear that had torn their contact hung heavily over them. The trio knew that they had to find Mikey soon if they were going to find him at all.

Resignedly, Donatello pulled his cell from his belt, but froze when he heard a small, feminine voice. He held his breath, eyes narrowing as he listened.

"Leo... Le-eo-o..." The voice called.

Eye ridges furrowed. Doubting the female was calling for his older brother, he leaned forward, peering over the edge of the lab. Next door was an old building with a condemned sign posted in front.

He blinked and gasped as he heard her speak again.

"Leo... please..." The woman pleaded, voice breaking," Where are you? Mikey needs you..."

Donny's heart stopped cold and his eyes widened. He could not see the woman and vaguely felt the thought that this might be a trap, but he flipped his cell open and pressed the button that auto dialed both of his brothers. Blue and red masked faces popped onto the screen, split down the middle.

"Did ya find-"

"What is-"

Donny interrupted them both and hissed," Get here. Now."

The phone clicked quietly as he flipped it shut and kept his eyes on the door to the building. It was slightly ajar. The woman was no longer calling, but he could hear her foot steps walking around. He wanted desperately to jump down there and demand to know why she was calling his brother's name, but he calmed himself and waited impatiently for Leonardo's orders. Now was no time to lose his head. He had to remain calm. For Mikey.

Leonardo got to Donny first. His heart was racing at the short, clipped message, and he tore across the roof tops, fearing the worst. However, Donatello only crouched on the edge of the building, leaning forward as if he was watching something. Or someone. Leo approached from behind slowly, careful to keep his foot steps quiet. He barely managed to kneel behind him when he heard Raphael land a few feet away.

"What's da meanin' of this?" Raphael demanded, fury and panic written all over his face.

Donny turned and glared at him, raising a finger to his lips," Sh!"

They all listened intently as an almost undetectable clicking of shoes on tile neared the door of the abandoned building that Donny was staring so intently at. Leo looked uncertainly at Don, then turned to Raph, who shrugged. Turning his attention to the door, he watched as a slim, distressed looking woman walked out of the building looking to be on the brink of tears.

Raphael's eyes narrowed as he watched the woman look around helplessly and he grabbed the back of the purple banded turtle's shell, growling," What da hell, Don?"

"Will you _shut up_?!" Donny elbowed Raph sharply," She was saying-"

"Leo..." The woman said again, her voice shaking with emotion.

Leonardo's chocolate eyes widened behind his mask and he tore his gaze from her to look at Don questioningly. Donny nodded solemnly, holding his brother's gaze. They both jumped as Raphael growled and jerked towards the edge of the building.

"She's got Mikey's-!!" He drew his sais, but was thrown back by his brothers, however, at his words, they all turned silently.

Below, the woman sat on the steps of the building sniffling and pulling a plastic bag from her pocket. She opened it and pulled out an orange bandanna, letting it unravel to her feet.

Leo gasped, his heart pounding frantically against his plastron. He swallowed thickly and kept his hand on Raph's chest.

"S-stay," He ordered, looking at both of his younger brothers. Donny looked hurt, but Raphael looked furious and like he was about to retort, but Leo shook his head.

"Look, we don't know how much she knows. She obviously knows about me, but she may not know that you two exist. Let's keep it that way," He explained in a soft voice.

"But what if it's a trap?" Donny asked.

"Then you're both right here to bail me out. Just... just stay hidden, okay?" Leo begged, eyes flitting over to the hot headed turtle who sneered angrily at him, but nodded. He nodded back and took a deep breath before jumping down, landing with one hand on the ground. He paused and waited as she looked up and around for the cause of the soft 'thump' sound his landing made.

Vanessa jumped to her feet as she spotted a turtle who looked very much like Mikey crouched near her. He stood slowly and held up his hands as to show her he meant no harm. Though, she couldn't help but eye the swords strapped to his back.

"Leo?" She asked uncertainly, though there was no doubt in her mind that this was the brother Mikey missed so much. She noted that he wore a blue bandanna just like the orange one she'd been looking at.

"Yes. I am Leonardo Hamato," he paused and then added," Michelangelo's older brother."

Vanessa nodded, but did not introduce herself. She walked forward, her heart pounding as she wondered if Leo would give her a chance to explain why she had his brother's mask before he lopped off her head. His gaze was harsh and cold. Shielded.

She stopped a foot in front of him and handed him the orange bandanna.

"I know where you can find your brother."

* * *

A/N:My first cliff hanger? How'd I do? :D Don't worry, guys, Mikey won't be there much longer. Big brother id going to save him. I wanted to thank everyone for your reviews! I'm so glad you're all enjoying this so much!

Lola Hard was curious about why Mikey didn't just give Vanessa the number to his Cowabunga Carl line or Donny's hotline. To be honest I forget to explain a lot, but the lair had been destroyed in the attack, so neither line is up, really. Mikey, obviously would not know that, but his reasoning for not telling her the numbers will be explained later. :)


	7. Chapter 7

* * *

Finding Who We Are

Chapter Seven:

Donatello spent the night guiding his brothers through the maze that was supposed to be a lab. The halls made no sense at all and the directions Vanessa gave Leo had gotten them lost. He still wondered vaguely if this was a trap, but Leo looked so hopeful that he kept his mouth shut. Could it really hurt to check it out?

He was tense as he maneuvered the little group around cameras, carefully sending stars to disarm them so they could sneak by unseen. He tip toed through the halls, just in case someone had decided to pull an all nighter. So far, thankfully, they did not run into anyone. The lights all had been turned off, but he could make out the high tech equipment he half wanted to stop and oggle at. Some of it, he could only dream of owning.

"What is _dat_?" Raphael asked suddenly, his voice hushed. He stood not too far behind Leo and was peering suspiciously into a window. Donny wanted to sigh. Surely whatever it was wasn't important enough to stop their search. They'd all ready stalled too long. It would be morning soon. Still, he went back to look.

A large globe domed on the ceiling surrounded by four curling prongs. Cords were hung from the machine, trailing along the roof, then down the walls. Beneath the ominous looking sphere was a metal table with arm and leg straps. Donny clenched his teeth_. This better not be a room they take Mikey to_...

"I don't know," He answered, glaring at the room before turning away," Stop wasting time."

"Well, what room are we s'posed ta look for, then?" Raphael quipped irritably.

"The woman said to look for a large, metal door. That's all. No number or anything," Leo replied.

"Gee, dat's helpful," Raph returned, rolling his eyes," Good thing her directions were so specific, otherwise we'd be wanderin' 'round all night long."

_Not even knowing if Mikey is still alive or not_. Raph continued in his thought, though he knew that wasn't the theing to say right now.

"Hey, this is the best lead we could have hoped for! Why don't you stop whining and just pay attention? Maybe if you helped a little, we wouldn't keep walking in circles," Leo said lightly, fingering the orange bandanna he'd tied around his wrist.

Raphael sighed. He _was_ looking. And he wasn't seeing any damn metal door. All he saw was white. Too much white. And too many doors. The woman's directions had been so vague, he couldn't help but look into each little window just to make sure. However, so far, none had any cages what so ever. He assumed that's what they were looking for.

The idea that his baby brother was locked in a cage tore him apart. He'd been having nightmares for weeks about Mikey locked up, bleeding, missing limbs. The worst part was the crying. He couldn't erase the dream Mike's sobbing cries for help from his head. He hadn't told either of his brothers about these dreams, however, because who was he to moan about nightmares when his brother was literally living in one?

He just hoped that he didn't see anything remotely like his dreams tonight. Mostly for Mikey's sake, but also for whoever took him. He knew that if _he_ didn't fly off the handle, then Leonardo would.

It was hard to tell for sure, but Raphael felt like they weren't getting anywhere. From outside, the building did not look that big. They should have all ready covered every corner of the building. While he trusted Donatello's judgement when it came to complicated things like mazes, he wondered if the purple banded turtle was mentally singing _'Eenee, meenee, Mynee, mo!'_ for each set of halls they came to. Because their route seemed very random.

Suddenly, as they reached another set of halls, Donatello stopped abruplty and sighed," Leo... are you sure that-"

"Don't finish that question, Donny. She had Mikey's bandanna. She knows where he is!" Leo said, growling slightly.

"I'm not arguing with that point, but are you sure this isn't a trap?" Don asked.

"Of course I'm not... Would that have made a difference?" Leo asked, sighing and glancing at the orange cloth tied securely around his wrist," would you hesitate if it _was_ a trap?"

"Ya know we wouldn't, Leo," Raph responded for Donny, who looked a little hurt," Though, I still think ya shoulda let us nab her and make her show us da way."

Leo chuckled half heartedly," Probably would have if she didn't look absolutely terrified of me."

"Ya are pretty hard ta look at, Leo," Raph grunted, not smiling despite his attempt at a joke.

Donny snorted, rolling his eyes," And you aren't?"

"Hn," Raph frowned, scanning the three hallways they were presented with.

"Sh!" Leo interrupted, holding up his hand, listening," Do you hear that?"

They other two stopped bantering to listen. Hearing nothing, they exchanged a look and shrugged. However, Leo surveyed the three hall ways before them, then seemed to choose the middle one, creeping silently. As they neared the end of the hall, it veered off into two directions. He held up his hand to stop his brothers as he peered around the corner. Raphael and Donny could hear the gentle muttering of someone sounding a little distressed now and they held their breaths.

To Leo's shock, the woman who'd given him Mikey's bandanna was standing outside of a large metal door, pacing and murmuring to her self. She paused for a moment, her back to him and seemed to be biting her nail before she whimpered and ran a shaking hand through her hair.

"Please hurry, Leo..." He heard her whisper.

As she turned, he stepped around the corner, gesturing behind his back that Donny and Raphael should stay.

"L-Leo!" She stammered, looking half relieved and half alarmed at his presence.

He nodded curtly," What are you doing here? It's dangerous. What if you get caught?"

"I forgot that you can't get in without my key!" She said, holding up a plastic card that was hanging from her neck.

"I can pick locks," Leo stated simply.

"Not this one. If you even tried to pick it, an alarm would have gone off. It's best if I let you in," She said, sliding it through the machine on the wall. After hearing a sharp click, she opened the door.

Donny rolled his eyes at her reasoning. No lock in existance was smarter than him. He had no doubt in his mind that he would have been able to disarm the alarm _and_ figure out the code to get in without so much as breaking a sweat. He watched as his brother's shell disappeared into the door before darting forward to prevent the door from shutting all the way. Stealthily, he and Raph waited until he heard their foot steps fading. Leo purposely walked heavier for them.

Vanessa hurried to down the aisle of cages, very wary of the turtle following closely behind her. His expression was cold and hard. She could tell he didn't trust her one bit, but he didn't say anything as he trailed a beat behind her.

Leo tried not to look around, but he felt his eyes straying to cages full of depressed animals. The large, gloomy room was lined with cages. The sour smell was almost over powering to his slightly more sensitive nose, but he managed to keep walking with out even wrinkling his beak in disgust. The stench was far worse than that of the sewers. And that was saying something.

Most of the animals were asleep, but a few watched silently as they passed.

Many of the animals had an arm or a leg bandaged, but to his horror, a couple were completely bandaged. A cat, he noticed, was missing both eyes and looked skeletal. It seemed to be barely breathing. Clenching his teeth, he glowered at the woman's back. How could she work in a place like this and still call herself human?

As tempted as he was to strangle her, he kept his hands at his sides. Strangling women was not something Leo made a habit of. Raph may or may not have had any qualms with it, but Leo only followed her silently until she stopped outside of the largest cage. Holding his breath, his eyes stayed glued on her hands as they shakily pulled a ring of keys from her pocket.

Vanessa knew she was shaking as she tried to find the right key. She tried to be quick about it, unsure of how patient the turtle behind her was. So far, he had not said a word, but she wasn't taking any chances. He hadn't seen Mikey, yet. He could still change his mind. She wanted to believe that he was sweet, like Mikey, but the swords on his back and the distrustful look on his face scared her out of her wits. What would he need swords for, but to cut? She failed to repress a shiver as, at long last, the lock clicked audibly as she twisted the key. Before she could open the door, though, she was pushed aside, sprawling backwards as Leo hurried forth.

Had Leo not been half mad with worry for his brother, he would have taken more care to not push her so hard. But when he saw what lay inside the cage, his heart stopped.

Michelangelo was unconscious. Leo shoved his way into the cage as soon as he saw the hunched over form of his brother. Mikey was curled into a ball, knees drawn up.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the worst of it.

He didn't notice outside of the cage, but inside, the metallic smell of blood hung so heavily in the air that Leo wasn't sure if the choked sound he made was from that or the emotion tightening his throat. Blood was... everywhere. It was too dark to see if there were cuts or wounds on his brother, but he could definitely see that there were dark markings all over his pale green skin.

"Oh Mikey..." He whispered, his fingers hesitantly grazing over the tattooed cheek.

Vanessa felt tears fill her eyes as she watched the emotion on the blue masked turtle's face. She wished she had done something sooner. Mikey hadn't wanted to talk about his family, but she should have made him. It appeared that Leo missed his brother as much as Mikey missed him. She couldn't believe how selfish she'd been. She felt like such a horrible person. How could she put her job before the life of someone so sweet? Mikey was loved and missed more than she could have imagined...

Before she could wallow in her sorrow any more, she felt something cold and sharp press against her throat and she gasped, getting Leo's attention.

Leo's eye ridges furrowed, but he didn't move from Mikey's side," Raph..."

"Get up," a deep, growling voice, whom she could only assume belonged to 'Raph', said into her ear. The weapon at her throat pressed harder and she could feel that it was starting to cut into her skin. Wincing, she stood, albeit shakily. Her knees felt like they were about to give, especially when she saw that yet another turtle was standing in her line of view. This one wore a purple bandanna around his eyes. He pointed a long, wooden staff at her, eyes narrow.

"Don't move," The turtle with the staff said, his voice kinder than whomever was behind her. She could see the hand holding the three pronged weapon was the same, green three fingered hand that the other three turtles had and she suddenly realized that Leo was not the only brother Mikey had. Gulping audibly, she wondered just how many mutated turtles were running around in New York.

For a moment, no one moved. Vanessa held her breath and jerked violently in shock when a hand wrapped around her left wrist. For a moment, all it did was hold her wrist as her shaking got worse and her breath came in short, panicked gasps.

She felt warm breath on her neck as Raphael sighed. He wanted to scare her, but now he felt a little bad. This woman had helped them afterall.

"Look," He said suddenly, pulling her arm behind her back gently and slowly," Relax. I ain't gonna hurt ya, okay? We just can't let ya walk outta here."

At her widening, fear stricken eyes, Donny sent his red clad brother a dark look.

"Gosh, Raph. Scare her more, why don't you?" He scolded before turning to her and saying," I'm sure the cameras caught you returning to work. You can get into trouble. Even tried as a conspirator, so we are going to tie you up. That way you can deny having any part in helping us break our brother out."

That made sense. It made a lot of sense. Then maybe she could keep her job after all. She wanted to return the smile that this kinder turtle was giving her, but she could only manage a nod. Though she was still frightened, she allowed the turtle behind her to drag her back towards her office.

In the light of her office, she was able to see that the purple banded turtle had gentle, brown eyes that regarded her with only slight interest. Like Leo, he wore a belt around his hips. A pack bulged on the side and he pulled a rope from it. As he wrapped one end around a fist and held the other end in his other hand, he sent her an apologetic look.

"I just want to thank you for-" He started to say, but was interrupted.

Raphael pushed her roughly to the ground," Stop bein' such a wimpy sop and gimme the damn rope if yer just gonna talk her ear off."

Vanessa didn't run as the red banded turtle who'd been restraining her yanked the rope from his brother's hands. He grunted as he yanked her arms behind her back, none too gently. She winced as he pulled the knots tight, but didn't fight him. She knew that, in a way, she deserved this. The ropes cut into her wrists slightly as he tightened them again and she gasped.

"You don't have to be so rough, Raph!" The purple bandanned turtle interjected, sounding slightly annoyed.

"It's fine..." Vanessa said, glancing back at him and grimacing a bit," I've known that Mikey's been in pain for some time, now and haven't lifted a finger to help him..."

Raph growled and tied one last knot before pushing her forward. Her cheek hit the cement floor as she slid forward. She hissed in pain, knowing she'd gotten scraped by the slightly jagged surface.

"Raph!" Donny cried, glaring at his brother.

Blinking stinging tears from her eyes, she looked back to see Raph pulling a rope from his own pack. He did not look at her as he tied her ankles together, too. He was just as rough with these knots as he had been with the ones trapping her wrists painfully behind her back. When he was satisfied that they were tight enough, he glanced around before noticing the storage closet where the door was slightly ajar. Standing, he moved to poke around in there.

As he was gone, Vanessa turned wide, hazel eyes to the purple clad turtle looking a little ashamed," Hey, about Mikey..."

He looked up, chewing the inside of his cheek.

As she had his attention, she continued," He's very unstable right now. He's not in his right mind. You may need... um... sedation... I-I could be wrong... B-but earlier, he wasn't... himself..."

Donny wasn't sure what she was talking about, exactly, but so far she'd been completely truthful, so he nodded, not trusting words at the moment. He thought about her earlier confession about knowing that Mikey was hurting and not bothering to help. It made him not regret the ropes being so tight quite as much.

Raph returned with a semi clean towel and some duct tape. As he neared, Vanessa felt her bottom lip tremble.

"J-just make sure you s-save him, kay?" She asked, her voice tight with emotion.

Raphael paused as if hesitating, amber orbs finally rising to meet her eyes. He held her gaze for a second as if searching, then he ducked his head again, offering a gruff," We will."

Thankfully, he gently wadded the small towel in her mouth, careful not to gag her, then wrapped the tape around her head. As a final touch, he snatched her access card from her neck and stood, staring down at her with a strange look in his eyes.

"Hey, Raph, not to rush you, but I think we're tight on time," Donny said, suddenly noticing and pointing to a tiny light blinking on the wall. Underneath it was a little sign that read: Silent alarm activated when flashing.

Raphael broke the contact and nodded, following him out of the office without looking back. A moment later, the two passed again, Mikey carried between them. Leo took up the rear and paused to look at her. He nodded in thanks, but she could only lower her eyes in shame. The door slammed behind them and she prayed that they got out safely.

* * *

A/N: Wow! Thank you all so much for reviewing last chapter! I got such a response! Guess everyone is glad Mikey's getting out, huh? Unfortunately, out favorite goof ball isn't in the clear yet and neither is Vanessa. We'll see what happens to the two, soon! R/R!

MattyDreamer: She got a little roughed up, just for you! But, I couldn't have them hurt her too much. Couldn't see Donny doing it and Leo was distracted with Mike. Good thing Raph was there to do the dirty work!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I really thought this story was sloppily written and I was half tempted to abandon it, but a surprising amount of people have been PMing me asking me to continue. I wanted to edit, but if you guys think the story is fine as is, I'll continue it. However, keep the reviews coming. I really appreciate critique and advice. Thanks again, guys!

* * *

Finding Who We Are

Chapter Eight:

Leonardo clenched his teeth as he stared at the unconscious form of his baby brother. As soon as they had gotten him home, they carried him straight to Donatello's lab where the brainy turtle instructed that they tie him down onto his bed. He had a metallic examination table, but they all seemed to agree that after a month of suffering, Mikey would not want to wake on one in his own home.

It bothered Leo that even though they did manage to save the blue eyed terrapin, he still had to be locked up, but how could he argue? He put up a fight at first, with Raphael fervently backing him up, but Donny only calmly explained that unknown experiments had been performed on him and the woman from the lab had told him that their brother was not himself anymore. There was a possibility that he could attack them or worse, injure himself.

Of course, this information only served to infuriate Raphael even more. He went into a fit of rage and Donny's newly reformed lab was in danger of being destroyed again. Thankfully, Master Splinter had heard the commotion and came to confiscate the angry turtle. They had retreated to the old rat's room and were meditating.

The black markings that marred the sea green skin were darker than ever and seemed to move beneath Leo's fingers as he traced one swirling marking over his younger brother's cheek. Michelangelo didn't seem to be aware of his presence or his gentle touch. His eyes were squeezed shut and his breathing was quick and ragged. Beads of sweat and blood mixed on his skin, making it slick and shiny. Leo pulled his fingers away and frowned in irritation at the red substance coating them.

Donatello appeared behind him, removing his bandanna so he could put on his magnifying goggles," Yeah, I'm not sure why that's happening. If we had had more time and if I had been thinking clearly, I would have grabbed his file. However, you know Raph. He lost his temper and started harassing the girl right away. I was a little preoccupied trying to make sure he didn't hurt her too badly."

"Did she do this to him?" Leo asked without looking up.

"I don't think so," Donny murmured, adjusting the lenses on his goggles. He turned magified eyes to his oldest brother and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Leo, she seemed like she really cared for his well being."

"Then she should have let him go a long time ago!" Leo bit out, glaring at his bespectacled brother.

Donny sighed and pushed the lenses up to rest on his forehead so he could get a better look at the other turtle.

"Leo..." He started to say, but Leo held up a hand and shook his head.

"No, I know, Don. She probably _couldn't_ get him out of there. Those halls were ridiculously confusing. And after I saw what they were hiding, I can understand why."

"If it's any consolation, Leo, considering what's been done to Mikey, he is in remarkable condition and I have a feeling that that woman had something to do with it."

"You mean you think she may have been the one taking care of him?" Leo asked and Don nodded.

"Well, yes. He is mostly unscathed, but I have noted that his wrists are pretty cut up and bruised, likely from fight against restraints, but they are clean and clear of infection. I seriously doubt she had anything to do with the actual experimenting at all."

Leo looked down and didn't reply. His eye ridges were furrowed and his frown deep. He only looked up when the hand on his shoulder squeezed.

"Leo, she came looking for us. She wanted to save Mikey. Before we left, she begged Raph to save him. You didn't see it. She..." Donny paused, considering the fact that she had admitted to not lifting a hand to help Mikey. He reasoned that she had obviously been too hard on herself. She was only human. She did what she could. He withdrew his hand from his brother's shoulder and lowered his goggles over his eyes again before continuing in a softer voice, trying to reassure himself as much as his older brother," She is not our enemy."

Leonardo did not respond. Folding his arms over his chest, he stepped back to let his brother work. It sure seemed like the woman didn't want to hurt Mikey, but how could he be sure that she didn't? She seemed young, which meant she was easily impressionable. If her boss told her to Jab Mikey with a needle, she probably would have. Still...

Leo stared as Donny leaned close to Mikey's skin, making small noises as he analyzed whatever he was seeing. The older turtle sighed and looked away.

The woman knew his name. That meant that on some level she had to have talked to Michelangelo and he knew that under no amount of torture would his brother betray their family. Could that mean they were friends, then?

That didn't sit right either. If Mikey had trusted her, then he would have given her the location of the lair. But the lair had been attacked...

"He couldn't have known if it was still here..." Leo muttered to himself, drawing Donatello's attention away from his study. His thoughts were just going in circles. He couldn't be sure she was an enemy, but he couldnt convince himself that she was an ally, either.

Behind the goggles, eye ridges were raised in interest, however he didn't comment on Leo's random murmuring.

"You won't believe this, Leo..." He stated, running a finger over a stripe when he had the blue banded turtle's attention," Do you see how the markings twitch when you touch them? As if it irritates them?"

Not sure what he was getting at, Leo just leaned forward and nodded when, indeed, the black marking moved slightly under Don's finger.

"Robots!" Don exclaimed, his voice both excited and horrified.

"Come again?"

"Hundreds!" The brainy terrapin continued," No, thousands of tiny, microscopic robots! Microbots!"

Eye ridges furrowed in confusion, Leonardo looked from Donny to Michelangelo and back again. He still was not completely sure what his brother meant by that. This wasn't the real Mikey? It wouldn't be the first time an enemy tried to pull something like that. He nodded slowly, but his lack of understanding must have shown on his face because Donny sighed heavily the way he always did when he felt like he was over explaining something that was apparently very simple to understand.

The younger turtle pushed his goggles up and fixed his brother with a suffering look," Honestly. We've been to the both the past _and_ the future. Didn't you look around at the way technology has evolved at all? We're right in the middle of a technological revolution as we speak! The future is staring right at you!

Donny gestured Mikey with a swipe of his arm before continuing," I hypothesize that whomever runs HueCorp has been injecting our brother with a mixture of tiny robots. From what I saw, they are in constant motion. Constantly working on their host."

"What are they doing to him?" Leo breath, suddenly very alarmed.

"Have you noticed anything about Mikey that's changed? Other than the black markings and razor sharp teeth, of course."

The blue banded brother shrugged a shoulder, brown eyes roaming over his youngest brother's unconscious form. He didn't see anything else. Not at first. Narrowing his eyes, he realized what was different.

"He's bigger," Leo said softly, clenching his teeth. Michelangelo was much bigger. He'd always been the shortest of them and wasn't nearly as lithe as Donatello, but he was definitely thinner than the two eldest turtles. However, now, his muscles were thick. Perhaps even thicker than Raphael's. Someone was mutating his brother further.

Noting his brother's tensing demeanor, Donny continued quickly," Y-yes! Precisely! I think the robots are muscle enhancers. I believe that the scientist at HueCorp might be trying to create some sort of stimulating drug to make people bigger and stronger. I theorize that these microbots are injected and immediately set to work building muscle tissue faster than we ever could from exercising. It's brilliant!

The word slipped out before Donny could stop himself. Sharp, angry chocolate eyes focused on him and he covered his mouth," Leo, that's not what I meant..."

"You think experimenting on our baby brother is _brilliant_? Strapping him to a table against his will, doing who knows what? Injecting him with some foreign objects that turn him into some tribal..." Leo's eyes narrowed in fury and he growled in a rather Raphael-like way as he advanced on Donatello, who held his arms up in surrender," Do you remember me telling you how scared he was that day I contacted him? He was _terrified_. Nothing about that is _brilliant_, Donatello."

"That's not what I meant at all, Leo!" Donny responded, cringing away from his irate older sibling," I just meant using tiny robots to help build muscle can really help. M-medically! I mean, when people are bedridden, you know! They have to go through years of physical therapy to rebuild muscle mass that they lose during their recovery! These robots could reduce that time dramatically!"

"And turn them into _this_!" Leo hissed, pointing at Mikey, who was panting," It's not natural, Donny. I don't care what you think about it. It's not right."

Donatello turned away before Leonardo could see his indignant glare. His brothers never understood him when it came to science. He just didn't understand why they could never see the good in things like this. Yes, what was happening to Mikey was horrible and he hated it, but sometimes, these things happened. Science would never advance before falling back a few steps first.

Silence fell between the two brothers as they both fumed until Mikey made a small growling sound. They both turned quickly to look at him.

Michelangelo had opened his eyes, however the crystal blue orbs they expected to see were replaced with solid white. The iris-less eyes took in their surroundings as Mike turned his head around. He froze when he spotted the two turtles.

"Mikey..." Leo gasped, taking a step towards him.

However, he stopped a step away when Michelangelo snarled and threw his head back against the pillow to release a spine chilling howl. Gnashing razor like teeth, he struggled against the ropes they used to tie him down and, though he may have hated to do it at first, Leonardo was relieved that Donny had made them do it. Mikey tugged angrily at the restraints, leaning as far as he could towards Leo and snapping his teeth in a vain attempt to bite him. Neither of his brothers breathed for several minutes as he continued to hang there, opening and closing his jaws with sharp clicks.

"Donatello... what's wrong with him?" Leo asked.

"I-I don't know!" Donny responded uncertainly," The woman said he wasn't himself, but she didn't say he was like this!"

Leo turned to narrow his eyes at him," And you think this is _brilliant_?"

Donny didn't answer. He looked away guiltily as he grabbed a syringe full of a sedative. While Mikey's attention was focused on devouring Leo, he pricked his little brother's arm.

Face distorting in anger, Mikey roared, stretching as far as he could towards Donny for a second before falling back onto his shell. The door burst open in that second and both Master Splinter and Raphael stood in the doorway.

"What da shell is goin' on?" Raphael demanded, then he gasped," Mikey!"

They all turned in time to see half lidded sky blue eyes looking at them. Michelangelo was panting and whimpering. His eyes rolled as he struggled to stay conscious. Gasping for air, he could barely lift his head. His limbs felt suddenly very heavy. His vision was blurry, but he could barely make out that he was surrounded by his family. Unfortunately, the relief he wanted to feel didn't come. His mind was tormented by thoughts of a certain hazel eyed woman.

"V-Va..." He rasped, stammering as the drug drifted into his mind and tried to take him," Vaness-sa..."

"Who da-"

"Sh!" Leo hissed, moving forward to take Mike's hand. His baby brother squeezed back, eyes swivelling towards him.

"I-I bit..." Mikey fought to say," b-bit... V'nessa..."

His eyes rolled into the back of his head the second he pushed out the woman's name and a long sigh escaped his lips. He fell limply against the mattress and didn't make another sound.

"What...?" Leo asked in confusion, looking towards Donny. His voice died in his throat, however, when he saw the look of horror on his brother's face.

"This just got a lot worse," Donatello said.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks again everyone! I hope my slow updates aren't ruining this story for anyone. For Baby D, thank you for your kind words, they made me smile and feel a little better about this. I'll definitely finish it, but I may revisit it later for an edit. Of course, that's a long way off because I have other stories that will need my attention after this one is done. As for Mikey, don't worry. What doesn't kill you, only makes you better. It will be subtle at first, but Michelangelo will heal. :)

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Finding Who We Are

Chapter Nine:

"Wait…" Leonardo said slowly, eyeing Donatello darkly as if he thought the younger turtle had lost his mind," Explain to me again why we have to bring a stranger into the lair? A stranger who may have had an active part in making Michelangelo…"

"Some sorta crazed, turtle eatin' monster!" Raphael supplied when his older brother trailed off. The other two turtles sent him dark looks. Master Splinter only leaned on his cane and regarded them in silence.

Donatello sighed. He was having trouble explaining why Mikey biting this 'Vanessa' girl could possible make their lives much worse. He frowned around the room, taking in each perplexed and misunderstanding expression. Even their father, though he was trying to look passive, seemed confused. His face was expressionless, sure, but his eyes held questions. His tail hovered centimeters from the floor and the tip twitching slightly, which Donny had come to mentally explain to himself as a sign of agitation.

His bedroom had become not only the new residence of his unstable little brother, but also an overcrowded poor excuse for a lab. He could not think if his whole family insisted on clinging to his shell for the rest of the night. As it was, coming up with a solution for whatever was plaguing Mikey was difficult without their endless questions and now he had a new problem to consider. Human DNA melding with possibly mutated micro-bots. Lovely.

"I keep telling you guys that I don't think that woman had much, if anything, to do with what happened," He spoke quickly, not allowing so much as a breath to separate his words because all ready, Raphael was looking like he was waiting for a space to slip in and interrupt with a sarcastic, unhelpful remark.

"Look, I'm not sure what these micro-bots are capable of and until I can get some samples and find a way to study them, I won't be able to. That could take some time. Until then, who knows how they could have reacted to the mutagen in Michelangelo's blood. As far as I can tell, these micro-bots are all over his entire body. If he pierced flesh when he bit the girl, and judging by his newly acquired set of razor sharp teeth I think he did, then she can become contaminated, too. It's impossible to tell what the micro-bots mixed with Mikey's mutagenic DNA could do to a regular human," The purple banded turtle paused breathlessly," _That_ is why I need you two to find Vanessa and bring her here."

Leonardo's frown only deepened. His arms crossed across his plastron and his leg stance wide, he looked rather displeased by the thought of bringing a strange human girl into their lair. Not that it was much of a secret anymore. Since the attack months ago, they'd been so caught up in finding Michelangelo that they never got around to looking for a new place to live. So, Donatello had been forced to up their security.

Mostly he'd just put up more cameras, but he'd also written a new program so that their sensors were much more sensitive. A major downfall was that, sometimes, in the middle of the night the alarms would go off when a rat would wander too close. Several times, they'd all jumped out of bed thinking they were under attack only to corner a poor panicked rodent. But, it was the best they could do for now.

Donatello had never been good at standing up to any of his brothers, least of all Leonardo. Something about his ever calm, cool stare made him want to cringe away and wave a white flag. Even now, when he knew there was no other option but to bring Vanessa in for some tests, his stomach twisted nervously and he felt somehow small under Leo's piercing brown eyes.

Thankfully, Master Splinter stepped forward, his cane clicking softly on the stone floor of the bedroom-laboratory.

"Leonardo," Leo turned his head jerkily towards his father, clenching his teeth," I know what you are feeling. You are worried that this woman cannot be trusted. That she may bring enemies and yet another one of your brothers will go missing. It is honorable of you to love your brothers and to put them first in your heart, but we cannot allow this… disease to spread in the world above us. You must retrieve her."

Leonardo only continued to stare at the old rat unblinkingly for several moments before his chin dipped and he sighed in defeat.

Bowing slightly, he said," You're right, Master Splinter. I'm sorry."

Splinter released a small snort of approval and gently patted his oldest son's shoulder. He turned to his red banded son, ears pricking forward slightly in curiosity.

Throughout the entire explanation and even well after, the normally loudly opinionated sai wielding turtle had not said a word. He watched the exchange in silence, amber eyes moving from one family member to another as each spoke. His lips curved in a slight frown and his eye ridges were furrowed. Raphael was trying to look mad, but Master Splinter could see by that he was every bit as afraid as Leonardo was.

Raphael's body language only ever gave a few subtle clues that betrayed when he was nervous or scared. His shoulders tensing were one. Jaw clenching and unclenching was another. But Splinter felt that what betrayed him the most were his expressive eyes. Bright amber when excited and angry, they seemed to darken to an almost light brown when he was upset.

The darkened eyes met Splinter's for only a second before the dark green skinned turtle turned away.

"Well, let's get dis show on da road, then!" He growled, stalking from the room.

…

Though Dr. White had offered to let her take the day off, Vanessa had opted to stay. She wanted to rest, after the night's crazy ordeal, but her nerves were buzzing and she knew she wouldn't sleep a wink. Not when every time she closed her eyes she saw not only a group of mutated turtle brothers, but also the pained, tortured face of her newest friend.

When she'd come to see Michelangelo as a friend, she wasn't entirely sure. But, as she neared his empty cage that day to clean it, she'd felt the strangest tug at her heart and prickling behind her eyes when she realized that she may never see the mutant again.

The brunette sighed, bracing herself on the sink of the public restroom in HueCorp. Her sullen face stared back. Eyes sunken and hair even more wild than normal, a frown tugged the corners of her lips. Shaking her head, she pushed from the porcelain dish and scolded herself. Michelangelo was with his brothers now; where he should be; where he deserved to be.

Vanessa rolled up her sleeve and hissed when the cold water touched her skin. She hadn't had a chance to clean the wound Mikey had given her and now she was paying for it. The normally pale skin of her forearm was an angry red. Irritated, a rash had broken out around the jagged crescent shaped cuts that arched from the inside of her elbow to just below her wrist.

The blood had clotted quickly after the bite had been inflicted, so, surprisingly no blood had gotten on her lab coat. It was a blessing she was grateful for because after the police had thoroughly harassed her, the last thing she'd wanted was for her boss to put her through an interrogation. As it was, he all ready seemed terribly suspicious of her.

Dr. White didn't give a specific indication that he was. It was just a feeling that Vanessa had. During the entire police investigation, which took hours after she'd been untied, Dr. White had stared intently at her. Almost seeming to not blink, he'd stood half hidden in shadow and watched as she was questioned. Perhaps it was her guilty conscience, or she was just being plain paranoid, but she got the jitters every time she passed the man in the halls, which seemed far more often than usual. She felt like Dr. White was watching her like a hawk circling his prey. To say the least, it was scaring her.

Vanessa tried to ignore the chilling feeling forming in her gut whenever she saw the older scientist and focus on the mess that had been left in the holding facility. She had started in her office, righting her chair and collecting strewn paperwork, which was mostly from the police trying to collect evidence, though any evidence that could have been left behind had been carefully removed by several men dressed in all black with a red insignia on their breast, and then she moved onto the kennels and storage closet.

The men in black had even covered their faces. It was all very unusual, but Dr. White, wearing a careful smile that suggested that she shouldn't think too much into it, insisted that they were only part of a specialized clean up crew. He said that they were only removing confidential files and information about his subjects that would seem… inhumane. Even the unusual animals had been sedated and carried out of the building only seconds before police had arrived.

The speed and efficiency of the men reminded Vanessa of the silent, stealthy way the mutant turtles had moved. Based off of her very brief contact with them, she theorized that they were a lot more lethal than their ancestors were.

Needless to say, she had to haul plenty of garbage and broken equipment to the back of the building. She was positive that each time she passed Dr. White at least once, though he seemed to be trying to make it seem like he was busily checking their security systems and files for missing information.

She sincerely hoped than none of the turtles had been caught on camera. The last thing the man needed was more test subjects. This brought her mind back to her throbbing arm.

She sighed, gingerly touching the hot, feverish skin. It stung. Her arm was starting to look a little swollen and she was sure that lugging big black bags crammed full had done nothing to contribute to the overall well being of her poor arm.

The scabs were hard to see, since her skin was such a violent shade of red. She lifted her arm to inspect them and was a little nervous to see that yellow puss had hardened around the edges of the scabs. She wasn't sure what she was going to do if her arm became infected. She'd heard of animal caretakers losing limbs from untreated animal bites!

Vanessa bit her lip, but didn't have time to fret anymore as she heard approaching foot steps. The steady clicking of heel on tile signified that Dr. White was approaching the restrooms. Hurriedly, the woman yanked the white sleeve down and cupped her hands under the still streaming water to splash her face just as the door swung open.

"Ms. Lehman," Came the crisp, clipped voice, dripping with clearly feigned concern," Are you all right? Richard says you've been in here for quite some time."

Still leaning over the sink, water dripping from her face, Vanessa shut the faucet off and gathered a paper towel, pressing it against her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Dr. White. I guess the fatigue is finally getting to me," She lied. In fact her heart was hammering in her chest and she felt suddenly light headed under the uncomfortably analyzing stare of the male. She fought it, though she was sure her traitorous face was flushing as it always did when she was nervous. She had the sinking feeling that Dr. White could see right through her.

Those cold eyes stared from under thick brows and Vanessa felt like a frightened, cornered doe.

"D-do you er…" She swallowed thickly and moved to inch around the man," m-mind if I take you up on that offer to go home? Everything is almost completely done and I would really like to get some rest."

Dr. White ignored her," I was wondering, Ms. Lehman… What were you doing here so late last night, anyway?"

"I f-forgot my purse," Vanessa stammered. She inwardly winced because she knew it was obvious now that she was lying," It had my… reading glasses in it."

Vanessa didn't wear glasses. At all. But, somehow, it was the first thing that came to her mind.

Dr. White didn't say anything. Just stared down his long, straight nose at her.

"I er… suppose I could have left it for the morning…"

"Indeed," Dr. White replied, and then nodded," You may go."

Relief washed over Vanessa and she struggled not to let it show. She smiled politely and dipped her head in a nod before turning away. Her heart was still pounding in her ears, but skipped a beat when a large, cold hand wrapped around her right wrist.

"One more thing I couldn't help but notice was that you've been favoring your right arm," He said before sharply yanking her towards him. In one fast movement, he'd pushed up her sleeve and revealed the wound. A snake of a smile curled his lips.

"Injury from the… attacker?" he asked.

Vanessa didn't know what to say. He knew. Dr. White knew that Mikey had bitten her and he had no problems with breaking the law. Heck, he'd done it several times right under the noses of several police officers in the last twenty four hours when he hid evidence and then lied about it.

Just then, the door burst open again and an old male janitor stepped in, followed by a shorter, stout woman. The scientist released Vanessa's arm and she took the opportunity to run.

Pushing past the newcomers, she darted through the halls she'd only begun to memorize. She paid no attention to the workers she ran into, only pushing through them. She only dared to look back once she stepped outside of HueCorp laboratories and was surprised to see that she had no pursuers.

The sun was setting. It was much later than Vanessa realized. The sky was purple as the last rays of daylight reached spindly fingers over head. She only spared it a glance. She wasn't going to wait for Dr. White to catch up.

She didn't know where to go, but her apartment was out of the question. He knew where she lived. Slipping into shadows, she caught her breath as she walked in the opposite direction with no destination. Her mind quickly went through her options.

She could rent a hotel for the night. The idea was quickly banished because she wasn't sure how powerful Dr. White was. For all she knew he could track her by her debit card. Or worse… what if she was bugged? She immediately shrugged out of her lab coat and tossed it into a dumpster before further exploring her other options.

The only other thing that came to mind was a women's shelter. It was free, no id was necessary, and there was no way to track her there. It was the perfect place for a frightened woman to disappear. The main problem she faced was that she didn't know where one was. In any case, the shelter was forgotten when she turned into an alley.

It was dark. She wanted the darkness, though, if only to hide from any eyes that might be looking for her. Still, the back of her neck prickled. She pulled her still throbbing arm to her chest and worried her bottom lip as she tip toed through.

A soft _thump_ caught her attention and she whirled to find herself face to face with a man dressed from head to toe in black with a red insignia akin to a three pointed flame on his chest. Behind him two more men dressed exactly the same landed gracefully in a cat like posture. All three had swords strapped to their backs.

"Be a good girl and come with us," The one in the front said in a heavily Asian accented voice," White only wants to talk to you."

In movies, the unfortunate heroin always had a smart comeback at times like these, but Vanessa was drawing a blank. So, she turned tail and ran. Unfortunately, she did not make it two steps before one of the men in black flipped over her head and landed neatly in front of her, effectively blocking her flee.

"Now, now… don't be difficult," The man now in front of her said from his crouch. His hand slowly moved towards his sword in case she chose to run again. Vanessa wasn't stupid. She didn't move an inch.

And she didn't have to.

"How come ev'ry time I see you guys, yer gangin' up on innocent girls in dark alleys?" A gruff Brooklyn accented voice floated over them.

Vanessa looked around and saw that the three men had drawn their weapons and were twisting their heads back and forth in search of the speaker. Vanessa didn't even know what had happened before the first man was suddenly knocked on his back, out cold. Neither did he.

The other two started to speak in a foreign language that she did not recognize, but she was pretty sure that they were mad, judging by the way they angrily shouted and jerked their swords. She backed away from them.

"Lookin' for someone, tall dark an' ugly?" The red banded turtle from the night before suddenly appeared behind the two in black, but Vanessa didn't get to see what happened next because an arm wrapped around her waist and she was lifted from the ground.

She squeaked, but clung to the muscled arm in terror as the ground grew father and farther away until she was finally set onto sleet gray concrete. She put together that she was on a roof top.

With a small, cry, she used her good arm to shove away from her kidnapper and instantly regretted it as a wave of dizziness flooded her mind. She stumbled, but two hands firmly grasped her shoulders and steadied her.

"Are you all right?" Asked a calm, cool voice. She blinked stars from her eyes and looked up at a blue masked turtle.

"Leo?" She asked and the turtle nodded, repeating his question. Raphael appeared by his side, but folded his arms over his chest indifferently as he peered through narrowed amber eyes at her.

Vanessa stepped away from Leo and nodded.

"I'm fine," She declared, though she ran a shaky hand through her hair.

"Shell, Leo! Look at her arm!" Raphael said.

Leo was looking up at her raised hand and cursed.

"What?" Vanessa frowned at lowered her right arm to inspect it. It was still red. It was still irritated. And it was still swollen.

The newest effects were the tiny spikes of black poking from beneath the scabs.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: omg an update! I know. I have been so terrible to you guys. I'm not thrilled with this chapter, but hopefully it's not too bad. ^^;

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Finding Who We Are

Chapter: Ten

Nerves still buzzing from seeing his younger brother behave so out of character earlier, Donatello cautiously injected a needle containing a dilution for the sedative he'd given. Ideally, it would disperse and soften the effects of the sedative. Theoretically, there would be enough sedation to keep Michelangelo calm, but he'd be able to be conscious enough to talk.

Behind him, Donatello could practically feel his father's nervous gaze, though the old rat said and did nothing to interfere with his work. In fact, he stood well out of the way and if his unease hadn't been so thick, Donny may not have even known he was there.

Unfortunately, his neck prickled with awareness as he calmly set his supplies aside.

"Mikey should wake soon," He informed, "so perhaps we can learn something about what is going on here. I gave him something to thin out the sedative. I've never tried it before, but it shouldn't hurt him or anything."

After the almost fight he'd had with Leonardo, he was worried that his father might feel the same way as his blue banded brother about micro-robotic research. It wasn't unknown that the two were practically identical when it came to beliefs and opinions, so Donatello couldn't help but wonder if Splinter thought he was some sort of monster for being slightly curious about, and even a little impressed by, the research.

Of course, the condition his little brother was in made him feel a wave of guilt. The scientist in him wanted desperately to get samples and start taking the tiny machines apart to figure out how they ticked. But, the brother in him hated the people who created them.

For a moment, Master Splinter regarded his intelligent son in silence, aware of the inner battle showing so clearly in his expressive eyes. He stood still, leaning calmly against his cane with both hands resting casually on top. His ears were pricked forward his whiskers were relaxed. However, the way he lifted his nose, as if trying to sniff out his guilt, and stared so intently made Donatello want to shrink into his shell.

Finally, Splinter said, with a slight tip of his head," I trust you, my son. I know Michelangelo will be all right in your capable hands."

At that moment, a soft hiss signaled the opening of the lair door and familiar voices wafted in.

"I still don't think ya had ta cover her eyes, Leo," Raphael was saying as Donny emerged from his room, tailed by Splinter.

"It's okay, I swear. I totally understand," came a female voice.

Raphael was gently setting the brunette, who Don recognized immediately as the woman who'd helped them free Mike, down in the kitchen. It seemed that Leo hadn't wanted her to know of their location, so Raph's red bandanna had been tied around her eyes and he'd carried her there. As she was settled on the stone floor, he helped her untie the worn cloth while sending an annoyed look in the eldest turtle's direction.

Leonardo ignored her to roll his eyes at his hotheaded brother.

"It was necessary," he said, explanation as short as ever as he crossed his arms firmly over his chest in a posture that clearly said that the conversation was over. As far as he was concerned, enough of their lives had all ready been exposed.

Donny sighed when Raphael's face scrunched as he was on the brink of a retort. And Leo was ready, watching him with challenging eyes. The purple masked turtle decided to intervene.

"Hey, … Vanessa, isn't it?" He asked and she nodded in response. He smiled.

"I'm Donatello," he admitted with a small abashed blush," I'm the one who…"

"I remember you…" Vanessa stated, looking at each of them," I remember all of you."

Her eyes paused for a moment on Splinter, who stood a little behind Donny. Gears were practically spinning behind her eyes as she deduced in her mind who the old rat with a cane was to the turtles, then, seemingly after deciding his position, dropped shyly to the ground. She seemed to huddle into herself and Donny knew she was still mentally beating herself up.

"Donny," Leo said suddenly, not too gently grabbing the woman's arm to show the purple banded turtle," her arm."

"Right! Right! Let's take a look. Come with me," he ushered the girl to the dining area.

As she settled, he wasted no time in rolling up her sleeve. After only a moments inspection, his heart sank a little.

"I suspected this would happen," Donatello sighed.

Vanessa sat in a chair in the kitchen looking around with wide eyes, taking in the ratty, run-down sub station they called home. Michelangelo's instructions suddenly made perfect sense. 'Below,' he'd said, meaning below the streets of the city. In the sewers. Even if she'd spent weeks thinking about it, she never would have guessed where he and his brothers lived and she was grateful that they'd, instead, found her.

The purple banded turtle crouched in front of her, gently grasping her right arm. He carefully turned it slowly as he examined the damage, mindful of the swelling. Experimentally, he ran the tip of his finger over the punctures, humming and clicking his tongue to himself. It was subtle, but it was there. The black spines poking from beneath the scabs twitched. They were so small and fine that they were hardly noticeable. Frankly, he was impressed that his brothers had seen them at all.

Sighing again, he sank back on his ankles, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked up at the girl. She looked a little worse for wear. Raphael's rough treatment of her had left bruises on both of her wrists and he was sure her ankles were in the same condition. There were tired shadows under her eyes and her skin was pale. A light layer of sweat was forming on her brow and he knew she was not reacting well to the microbots.

"Well?" Leonardo asked, making Donny jump a little. He'd almost forgotten that he had an audience, so caught up in his thoughts was he.

"What diagnosis do you want, exactly?" He asked, standing.

"Does da girl got what Mike's got, _genius_?" Raphael said. Though he stood away from the huddle, leaning against the corner of the counter and casually sipping a glass of water, he'd been eyeing his brother and Vanessa nervously during the examination. Sarcasm laced his voice, but only to hide the concern.

"Unfortunately, yes. It… it has spread," he turned his regretful gaze back to the woman who was staring intently back.

"What exactly is _it_?" She asked, frowning.

"I'll tell ya what _it_ is!" Raphael said, suddenly snapping his emptied cup on the counter top," _it_ is a bunch 'o robots yer lab put in Mike dat's mutatin' my baby brotha' into a mindless monster!"

Vanessa was a little taken back by his out burst. When he'd carried her home, he'd been gentle and kind. He'd even whispered over his shoulder to ask if she was okay when she clung tighter to him as he sailed over roof tops with shocking ease. He'd been nice and now, he was snarling in her face. She flinched and leaned away.

"Raph!" Donatello protested, looking to Leo for help. The blue masked turtle was looking at the ground as if his toes had become the most interesting thing on the planet.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know…" Vanessa replied feebly, knowing that on some level, she deserved this. In the very least, she should have reported White for illegal testing.

"Well, what did ya think they were doin', lady? Playin' checkers with da nice little mutant? Get real!" Raphael continued. He bristled and clenched his fists, hissing through his teeth, but kept his distance. Still, Leonardo acted as though he wasn't hearing a word his brother was saying and did not rise to defend her. Vanessa hung her head.

"Leo! I could use a little help!" Donny exclaimed, rounding on his older brother, who normally played the role of 'Peacemaker'. He huffed when he received no response.

"No, he's right. I can't feign innocence here," Vanessa cut in, to everyone's surprise. The three turtles looked back toward her and she shyly cast her gaze at the cement floor. Curling slightly into herself, she hugged her injured arm to her.

"I'm not completely stupid. I went to a decent college to study things like this. I knew they were performing experiments on Mikey. I really didn't know what to think, at first. I mean, I knew it was illegal but… I don't know. He didn't like talking about it… I don't have an excuse for myself, but I hope you all know that I _am_ sorry! Also, that I do care about what happens to Mikey," when she finally looked up, her breathing was heavy and her eyes were glassy," he's my friend."

Donatello smiled gently and looked between his other brothers. Leo's expression had softened a little and he nodded. Raphael was looking away, rubbing the back of his head and perhaps feeling a little ashamed. Just behind him, standing in the shadows of the lab, was Master Splinter. The old rat's whiskers twitched and Don knew he was smiling, too.

"I know," Donatello responded, patting her arm. She gave a watery smile in return.

"Would you like to see him?" He asked on a whim. His brothers might have felt timid about this girl, and Donny certainly would in most cases, too, but something about this girl made him feel like they could trust her.

Immediately, Leonardo was protesting," I don't think that's a good idea, Don."

His expression settled into one of finality, but Don shook his head, gesturing to Vanessa that she should follow," Nonsense. I need to get samples and treat her, anyway. Besides, he's under a sedative. It's safe."

"Has he…" Vanessa asked eyes wide in alarm as she examined each of them for injuries.

"We're fine, thanks to your warnings, actually. I suspected he might wake and not be in his right mind, so we strapped him to the bed as soon as we got home," Donny explained.

Vanessa's eyebrows raised in surprise when she entered Donatello's bedroom. Computers and various other technical equipment that seem far more high tech than anything she'd ever seen were crammed in the room.

As Donatello pushed a rolling computer chair towards her, her eyes caught the sleeping form on the bed.

Partially covered by worn purple blankets, Michelangelo laid on his back with his head turned away from the other two occupants. His breathing was still shallow and came in short puffs. His skin, all ready naturally a pale sea green pallor, was more ashen and the tribal like marking stood out more than ever before.

As she sank into the chair, her eyes remained on the tortured terrapin.

Donatello frowned to himself as the woman's attention became centered on his little brother. Of course, his earlier assumptions had been correct. Judging by her intent stare, slightly flushed cheeks, and stress lines around her eyes and mouth, she was still quite guilt ridden. Not that she shouldn't feel some amount of guilt; any one would, but he felt some what bad. After all, if not for her, his brother would probably have died or worse.

Deciding that the woman probably wouldn't be feeling particularly chatty, he set to work cleaning her arm with a solution that seemed to irritate the micro-bots on Michelangelo's skin. When he'd padded it over his brother's arm, the black markings receded for a few seconds, but then stubbornly returned. He figured if he could find a way to concentrate the solution without making it so strong that it's burn the other turtle's skin off, he might have some sort of a cure.

In the mean time, using a soft cloth, he soaked it in the solution and gently ran it over the woman's arm.

He'd tended to his brother's wounds, and even Casey's, on several occasions, but never had he been on such close quarters with any woman other than April. Even though he knew the situation didn't permit it, he couldn't help the slight heat that rose to his cheeks as he sat beside the woman with her arm in his lap.

He felt subconscious about the soft feel of her skin against his legs.

As his fingers began to shake with sudden nervousness, he admonished himself. This woman would have no interest in him in any way, so feeling shy and nervous around her was ridiculous. After all, she trusted him to treat her. When he offered to care for her wounds, he'd become her doctor. Blushing like a lovesick teenager was completely inappropriate.

"Donatello," the name felt strange on her tongue and she was sure she'd pronounced it wrong, but the purple banded turtle jerked his gaze to her instantly, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"Er… y-yeah?" He asked," Something wrong?"

Vanessa pulled her arm away from his grasp and stood, hurrying to Michelangelo's side and placing a hand on his forehead.

"It's Mikey! He's on fire!" She declared, sending a panicked look over her shoulder at him.

Forgetting his discomfort instantly, he dropped at her side, inadvertently elbowing her away to look at his little brother. Indeed, Michelangelo's skin was covered in a layer of sweat. He was also panting heavily and his skin was very hot.

Donatello cursed under his breath.

"What's going on?" Vanessa demanded," What's happening to him?"

"It seems that his immune system is trying to fight back. It's attacking the micro-bots and _losing_!," Then Donatello called over his shoulder to where his family was likely still in the kitchen area," Someone get me a thermometer!"

Raphael was in the room in an instant with both Leonardo and Master Splinter hot on his heels.

"What's da matter?" The hotheaded turtle asked.

Donatello impatiently waved his hand," thermometer! Thermometer!"

Leonardo was the first to act, turning to dig through a small medical kit on the other side of the room. He found what he was searching for quickly and tossed it to Donny.

Everyone crowded around him as he placed the thermometer in Mikey's mouth, but he was too focused on watching the thermometer climb rapidly to care. He cursed loudly as the digital numbers passed clean over one hundred.

When it finally beeped, he growled," One o' five!"

If they didn't do something to get his temperature down and fast, his baby brother's brain was going to boil into mush and it would be all his fault for losing focus. He grit his teeth, cursing again as he arranged orders.

"What should we do? Donny?!" Leo demanded, sounding uncharacteristically terrified. He didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that a temperature of one hundred and five was not good. He gave his younger brother's shoulder a sharp shake.

"I don't know! Shell! Give me a minute to think!"


End file.
